There's lots of commentary in the news about Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address to parliament yesterday. Picking through it all I got to wonder what exactly we might have here as our new State President.

For example we have this little bit on one of my favorite hobby-horses:
President Jacob Zuma yesterday reiterated the government's commitment to reducing the regulatory burden on small business. "The matter of being stifled by regulations has been raised by the sector several times," he said in his State of the Nation address.
full story from Business Report here
That's all well and good, but does he understand what the practical measures to implement this would entail? And how those measures might conflict with some of his other priorities?

Then there's this bit about creating employment:
President Jacob Zuma's pledge yesterday to create 500 000 jobs by the end of this year and hold cabinet ministers accountable through performance evaluations by next month has left economists and analysts perplexed.

Economists said the targets were virtually impossible, given that evaluation systems took time to implement and that the economy was not vibrant enough to create hundreds of thousands of jobs within six months.

Zuma said in his State of the Nation address that he would use established targets and output measures from as early as next month to keep ministers in check.

Nick Segal, a public policy consultant, said he found the July deadline hard to fathom.

"I work with the government on a regular basis and worry about the feasibility of this because certain departments are not fully functional."
full story Business Report here
500 000 new jobs by the end of the year! Challenging goal or wishful thinking?

So what do you think - bold leader or daydreamer