PAUL HARRIS: Open up the tenders
Over three months
Scrap the minimum wage for anyone under 25 and make it easier to hire and fire.
At present, people get the social grant without working, but the youth can’t enter the job market by voluntarily working for less than the minimum wage. The outcome of minimum wages has been more unemployment and fewer viable SMMEs; they employ fewer people and more go bust. The government should stand up in support of the unemployed — they haven’t got a union.
For all tenders, the criteria have to be, first, whether the tenderer can demonstrate it has the expertise and resources to do the job. Second, if more than one tenderer complies, then the lowest price wins. Third, if prices are in the same ballpark, then use the BEE scorecard. Skills and enterprise development are used to enable more BEE companies to win tenders based on these criteria.
Publish a cut-off date for submission of a tender and a date the result will be made known. Then allow anyone interested to attend the “opening of the envelopes”. If there are any challenges, they must be with reference to the criteria above.
Over one year
Define and publish job specs and the skills and experience required to do key jobs in state-owned entities and municipalities (for example, for finance heads, engineers, planning), and have an independent panel to select executives, based on the job spec.
Involve the private sector in reforming and managing health-care facilities and hospitals, and drop the idea of National Health Insurance as currently envisaged. Universal health care will not be achieved without co-opting the private sector.
Change competition regulations obsessed with breaking up large companies. Large companies use scale to reduce prices for the benefit of many, but breaking them up leads to higher prices. These are spread over lots of people so they are not felt acutely enough by anyone to raise objections, and the benefits accrue to the few.
Harris is the former CEO of FirstRand and chair of telecoms group rain