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On Thursday, President Zuma delivers his third State of the Nation address, a little less than two years since taking office. In that time, South Africans have heard the President make many promises, but in a country facing ongoing crises in service delivery, healthcare and education, and where one in three are unable to find work, far too few of those promises have ever resulted in tangible improvement in citizens’ lives. Notwithstanding the tremendous spectacle of our World Cup, 2010 was a year in which South Africa again failed to make the progress we know is possible, and the President’s most important task, in delivering his address, will be to demonstrate that he will now take the decisive action necessary to move our country forward.

That means doing five things differently from how they were done in the past:

Firstly, the President needs to show that he is a President for all South Africans, and not just particular interest groups and allies. He cannot continue to allow members of his cabinet to block constructive, job-creating policies, such as Minister Gordhan’s wage subsidy proposal. Nor can he allow narrow interests to put hundreds of thousands of South Africans out of work, by banning labour broking. He must act to protect and promote the rights of all South Africans, and particularly the poor, and should do this by recommitting his administration to policies that expand the life-opportunities and the basic freedoms of our citizens.

Secondly, this is the time for the President to talk in specifics. This is no time for promises too sweeping for their progress to be measured. Nor is it the time for superfluous rhetoric and gesture. In the past, President Zuma has used vague concepts – like that of a “job opportunity” – to make meaningless promises, and to claim tenuous successes. We can only move forward as a nation if our political leaders are clear about what they mean, and are willing to be judged against an unambiguous set of policy pledges.

Thirdly, we need to usher in a new era of responsible governance. The President often uses the word “we” -- “we will deliver”, “we will ensure”, “we will tackle”. It is time for him to use the word “I”.

Fourthly, the President needs to depart from those philosophically misguided concepts that stand at the heart of the ANC’s approach to governance, and that act as powerful barriers to our country’s advancement. Cadre deployment has broken our public service and fuelled corruption, while democratic centralism is anathema to our constitutional democracy. These sorts of outmoded ANC policies need to be replaced with a programme of action that advances individual choice, prioritises merit and excellence, and expands opportunities and basic freedoms.

Finally – most importantly – now is the time for action. Today we are releasing a selection of some of the commitments that the President has failed to uphold since 2009. These failed promises range in subject matter from job creation to Eskom, and from corruption to mud schools. Combined, they portray a president who has comprehensively failed to match word and deed, and whose sincerity in addressing our country’s most pressing problems seems highly questionable.

Together with this fundamentally new approach, the President needs to show that he understands the problems facing ordinary South Africans, and that he has both a clear vision (a stated outcome, a list of objectives) and a detailed plan – the steps required to achieve that outcome.

In this regard, the President needs to pay particular attention to addressing our country’s unemployment and poverty crisis.

With no clear economic vision, and no detailed plan as to how his administration will achieve its target of creating 5 million jobs by 2020, tackling South Africa’s unemployment crisis should be President Zuma’s top priority. The first step towards a solution should be implementing the wage subsidy proposal. That this proposal, which promises to make a significant impact on levels of youth unemployment, has been shelved due to conflicting agendas within the tripartite alliance is a serious indictment of where the alliance’s priorities lie. That the Zuma government saw fit to commit at least R72 million of state funds to a nine-day totalitarian youth festival hosted by the ANC Youth League at the end of 2010 – but has failed to even institute a wage subsidy pilot programme, or even release a discussion document on the matter – is breathtaking.

As various ANC leaders mull proposals to nationalise mines and ban labour brokers, and fight over wage subsidies, millions of South Africans face a daily struggle for survival. An effective poverty alleviation strategy must, on the one hand, deliver immediate relief to those in need. On the other hand, it must create opportunities for people to lift themselves, and their families, out of poverty. The ANC has, thus far, failed on both counts.

Over the course of the coming days, we will release our expectations for the State of the Nation speeches in those other policy areas critical to our country’s development – education, healthcare, housing and service delivery. In each of these areas, the DA has a set of policies that we believe can help to advance our country, and make a real difference to ordinary South Africans. We will call on the President to consider those policies, and to reconsider some of his own.

Now is not the time for another list of empty promises. South Africans cannot educate their children with vague statements, they cannot build their homes with broad commitments. Now is the time for bold action, which moves our nation forward.