Jonas links low growth to poor leadership
AXED deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas has suggested that South Africa’s poor economic growth has its roots in illegitimate leadership and a state that lacks credibility‚ vision and professionalism.
He said the country had grown at an average of 1% since 1990‚ and that patterns of inequality remained and unemployment continued to rise.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with our economic growth model.”
Jonas said to escape this low growth and high inequality trap‚ the country needed to radically increase levels of participation among the majority of citizens who remained locked out of the economic mainstream.
He said the 1994 economic consensus had run its course and now a new inclusive growth consensus was needed to take the country forward.
Addressing the Public Servants’ Association’s annual general meeting in Pretoria yesterday, Jonas said South Africa urgently needed to expand and diversify the economy.
“But for this to happen we need legitimate leadership and a state that is credible‚ professional and visionary.
“Unfortunately we all must agree that the opposite prevails‚ with the state and business currently coalescing around the narrow self-interest‚” he said, to applause.
Jonas pointed out that if political and commercial power overlapped substantially‚ social development was held back and the state processes were dominated by wealth acquisition by the dominant elite.
“If we are to defeat these patronage system tendencies‚ we also need to succeed in building progressive and inclusive forms of collaboration with government‚ unions and business,” he said.
“Here we must expose those who are cunningly conjuring up a false enemy to build populist support and distract attention away from their own shenanigans.
“And I think we must welcome what has happened to [disgraced UK public relations firm] Bell Pottinger and some of the things that are happening now at KPMG, because it actually shows that we have a society that is alive‚” he said.
Jonas said South Africa was sitting with a ticking time bomb with high youth employment due to poor economic growth.