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Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma has played it safe by not referring at all to the issue of nationalisation in his state of the nation address on Thursday.
Nationalisation has been a hot topic and source of some mudslinging by the ANC Youth League at senior ANC and SA Communist Party leaders, even cabinet ministers.
The ANC Youth League recently renewed its call for the nationalisation of mines by putting forward a document detailing how it would go about this process. ANCYL said in the document that nationalisation may involve "expropriation with or with or without compensation."
Last week, Mines Minister Susan Shabangu came under fire from the ANCYL when she moved to allay investor concerns and said that there would be no change to the country's minerals laws.
The SA Students' Congress (Sasco) said Shabangu's comments were "a declaration of war".
Earlier, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane ruled out any pronouncements on the debate over nationalisation in Zuma's address.
"The issue of nationalisation is not a debate that is in government... I think we need to allow that debate to continue, but it has never been on the agenda before Cabinet."
Zuma also failed to mention a number of issues some citizens appeared to have wanted him to.
For some Soweto residents, the speech was destined to be a flop if he did not address the nation about the child he had out of wedlock.
"I'll be at home watching the speech because I'm interested in what he is going to say about the reports in newspapers about having a child outside of marriage," Bongani Mthimkhulu said, hours before Zuma's address was to be televised to viewers across the nation.
Mthimkhulu was one of many people at Maponya Mall eagerly awaiting more news of the Zuma sex scandal.
The closest Zuma came to the issue was when he wished 2010 Fifa World Cup local organising committee chairperson and Pirates soccer club boss Irvin Khoza all the best for the months ahead.
This caused some mirth among opposition ranks, as laughter spread through the chamber. A stoney-faced Zuma continued his address.
Khoza's daughter, Sonono, is the mother of the four-month old child.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille, was also scathing about Zuma's failure to provide details of the comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, announced some considerable time ago.
- Fin24.com and Sapa
