Zuma under pressure as State of the Nation address looms
* Zuma to deliver State of the Nation address at 1700 GMT
* Needs to outline plans for growth and jobs
* South Africans will be watching for clues on Zuma's health
A double blow from ratings agencies last week underlined the precarious state of the economy, which contracted in the first quarter. South Africans will also be closely watching Zuma himself after he was hospitalised this month with fatigue.
The 72-year-old was quickly discharged after "routine tests", his office said a week ago. However, he handed over the reins to his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa for five days to give himself time to recover from the rigours of preparing for the May 7 election.
Hitherto, Zuma had relied almost exclusively on a National Development Plan (NDP) drawn up in his first term as his broad blue-print for promoting long-term growth.
Analysts said the president also needed to address the deep mistrust that exists between the government, unions and the private sector if the NDP – which requires the cooperation of all three entities – is to have any chance of success.
Standard & Poor's downgrade means South Africa could even lose its coveted investment grade credit rating if growth fails to pick up. S&P's outlook is stable for now, indicating it is not looking at cutting its rating again soon but investors will want reassurance that the government is committed to steering the economy back to health.
The economy has been further strained by a cold snap at the start of the southern hemisphere winter and outages at some power generation units, which led to temporary rolling blackouts to prevent the already stretched national grid from collapsing.
"Much of the debate wants to hear an address that does not 'waffle' about policy but promises to 'get things done'. But if that is all we hear, we are likely to remain stuck where we are," said Friedman.
(Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Susan Fenton)