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President Zuma’s reply to the Presidency Budget Vote debate today was an opportunity for him to show leadership and address the many serious concerns raised by Members of Parliament yesterday.

Instead we got more of the same: no direction or vision, just more of the same old vague commitments and deflection of the real issues at hand.

This is a President who doesn’t know where he is going, and is hoping to distract South Africans into thinking he has a plan.

His response to the growing crisis of youth unemployment proves just this. He set out some of the attempts by his government to address the problem, but did not mention his own government’s failure to implement the Youth Wage Subsidy which he himself announced in his 2010 State of the Nation Address, and for which R5 billion has already been budgeted.

If the President was indeed serious about combatting the growing crisis of youth unemployment, which remains at over 60%, then he would have stood up to un-elected COSATU and announced today that this policy would be implemented immediately.

Instead he continues to put his own political interests first.

This was a weak response to an important issue by a weak President who lacks leadership and vision.

I urge him to do what is best for the country, and dedicate the next two years of his office to providing bold leadership in dealing with the most important challenges facing South Africa today. He could do this if he announced that he would not seek a second term as President.

All South Africans, regardless of political affiliation, deserve this.