Cyril is big on new ideas, but short on detail
● ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday in East London gave a glimpse of his plans to grow the ailing economy and pledged to change ownership patterns in the financial sector.
Although Ramaphosa’s speech was thin on detail, he announced that the ANC government would put special focus on highgrowth sectors including tourism, agriculture and mining, and on revitalising the manufacturing sector.
He acknowledged that the economy was on its knees and that serious measures needed to be taken to revive it if South Africa was to stand any chance of creating jobs.
The unemployment rate is 27.7%. “Economic growth has remained low, unemployment has remained high, and some of the advances we made in reducing poverty are in danger of being reversed,” he said.
“Levels of investment have dropped, our budget is under pressure, business and consumer confidence is low, and we have recently suffered a number of credit rating downgrades.”
His speech read like a manifesto.
The January 8 statement was drafted by the ANC national executive committee on Wednesday and it will inform the state of the nation address due to be tabled at the opening of parliament next month.
Ramaphosa said manufacturing would be boosted through implementing preferential procurement both by government and local business.
He did not elaborate on what the focus on tourism, agriculture and mineral resources would entail.
However, he said the state would create conditions for black people, young people and women to enter the economy by dismantling monopoly through competition authorities.
“The concentration of ownership of our economy [by] a white minority constrains sustainable growth and transformation. We will work to change the ownership structure of our economy through, among other things, ensuring access to, and ownership of, financial institutions by black people, youth and women. This will include new approaches to regulation and licensing in the financial sector to foster diversified ownership and competition.”
Ramaphosa said the party would also pursue the “enormous potential” of agriculture to promote industrialisation, create employment and transform the economy.
“By modernising agricultural production and developing a substantial pool of skills in this area, we would not only improve food security, but also develop agro-processing, the manufacture of agricultural inputs and increase exports. This would have a profound effect on the sustainability of rural communities.
Tackling corruption
“We need also to act with urgency and purpose to restore state-owned enterprises as drivers of economic growth and development. Several key SOEs are in financial distress, threatening not only their own operations, but the national fiscus. Many of these enterprises have experienced serious governance lapses and poor delivery of their mandate. These challenges have been exacerbated by state capture.”
Ramaphosa said corruption in SOEs and other public institutions had undermined the government’s programmes to address poverty and unemployment, weakened key institutions, discouraged investment and contributed to division in the ANC.
“Anti-corruption efforts within the state must be more effectively co-ordinated and all forms of corruption must be exposed and prosecuted. This includes corruption, collusion and other criminal activity in the private sector, which must be fought with equal diligence and determination.”
However, he said not all was doom and gloom. There were positive signs that the economy was on the road to recovery.
“We are encouraged by recent signs of faster growth following the country’s emergence from a technical recession and the recent stabilisation of . . . the rand. We have noted indications from a number of investors who are expressing renewed confidence in our country and are looking at new investments that would lead to job creation.”
On the ANC’s resolution to nationalise the Reserve Bank, Ramaphosa said the government would come with proposals on how this would be implemented.
He revealed that the NEC would outline how the party’s resolution to expropriate land without compensation would be implemented.