Johannesburg — While the president's allies outside Parliament are becoming increasingly fractious, his traditional opposition inside the house accepted his olive branch while promising that should he falter in his undertakings then he would be held to account.

For the opposition, the economy and the official confirmation that the country was in recession were clearly their primary concerns, and they dominated most of the speeches. Most leaders praised Zuma's promise to hold ministers to account.

Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Athol Trollip told Zuma it was more important than ever "that we recognise the full extent of the international recession and the fact that we are firmly gripped therein. We must begin to isolate the opportunities for SA in this global predicament.

"Many skilled people who left our shores are returning. We must harvest their skills, and place them in the vacant critical posts of the civil service to improve service delivery."

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said nothing was graver than the economic crisis facing the country.

He said reassurances by government officials in February were "irresponsible nonsense". Interest rates should be brought to as close to zero as quickly as possible, the rand should be allowed to devalue and the Reserve Bank should be nationalised and made an official organ of state.

Stressing that important time to respond to the crisis had been lost, he said: "SA has awakened to the harsh reality that in the first quarter, 22% of its manufacturing capacity has been shut down, mining has been reduced by 33% and the gross domestic product is down by at least 6,7%."

Buthelezi said this was just the beginning. There was a real chance the real estate market would collapse.

"Already we are experiencing casualties. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs, and more will. As winter sets in we will see wide- spread hunger and despair. Under such pressures, our healthcare system is likely to disintegrate, alongside our already failing education system. This is not the time, to quote my friend Baroness Margaret Thatcher, to 'go wobbly'. The hour demands courage and determination."

Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille said: "We need a plan that all South Africans can rally around, a plan that can tap into our collective patriotism, skills and wisdom, and bring us together as a nation. Your list of goals and priorities is laudable, but we have heard some of them before and the key issue, as always, will be implementation."

She and Trollip welcomed Zuma's undertaking to hold ministers to account. Trollip said: "Mr President, your international undertaking to hold ourselves to the highest standards of service, probity and integrity and to build a society that prizes excellence, rewards effort and shuns laziness and incompetence, is the clarion call that our nation so desperately needs and deserves to hear.

"The challenge, however, is not only to speak these fine words as you did yesterday, but to ensure that they translate into fine actions." This "noble intent" was being undermined by the appointment of Travelgate MPs to prominent positions in Parliament.

De Lille said: "Mr President, the ID is pleased to hear that for the first time there is going to be monitoring and evaluation of the performance of ministers. Ministers must be held accountable for their responsibilities and actions."