Mixed reaction on growth plan conflict

Should the ANC fail to find a common ground with its alliance partners on Treasury’s economic growth plan, the country could face an economic crisis with no point of recovery.

Political analyst Andre Duvenhage said political conflicts within the tripartite alliance posed a great danger to the economic recovery of the country.

He said that the defiant rejections of the plan by the SACP and Cosatu were unlikely to change anytime soon, which he viewed as a threat to the economic recovery.

On the contrary, Walter Sisulu University political studies lecturer Dumisani Mthethw, said the ANC alliance partners were likely to be “bought” into coming on board on Treasury’s proposed economic growth plan.

He said the rejection from the alliance partners was not a threat to the ANC, as the alliance partners benefitted from each other and a common ground was necessary.

Mthethwa said that there had been a number of proposed documents that were initially rejected but later implemented in silence by the governing party with no contestation from the SACP or Cosatu.

“The alliance is built on some sort of a benefit for all the parties involved. The ANC has the resources that the alliance partners need to survive and they are likely to use those to silence the alliance partners,” said Mthethwa.

He said the second technique the ANC was likely to use to implement the growth plan, was to stall the process until the dust settles from the public and its partners.