A critical tipping point

SIR — If current “antidumping protectionism” awarded to chicken and steel-fastener producers is a reliable indicator, SA’s currency would have to halve its 2011 value to restore national industrial competitiveness.

A broader basket suggests national competitiveness under African National Congress policies has declined to the extent that de-industrialisation and unemployment are now pervasive and endemic.

However, no amount of devaluation or protectionism can compensate for legislative and political weakness. Various commentators from Moeletsi Mbeki to Raymond Parsons have drawn attention to the need for more inclusive and better-balanced policies.

Under the current political disposition, legislation cannot emerge without distortion. Labour law should not destroy jobs, create unemployment and increase the tax burden on the state.

Competition law should not destroy national competitiveness, nor should government growth stifle and monopolise and squeeze out investment, savings and the private sector — and push up the cost of doing business. Nor should industrial and economic development policies be beholden to social engineering. Nor should dependency on the state become a political objective. The list is endless.

Perhaps SA needs a European crisis and a further decline in commodity prices to force the necessary political change — SA is at a critical political tipping point.