Development plan’s time is now
LAST week’s successfully run elections mean that having got the politics “right”, South Africa must now get the economics “right”.
The economy must resume centre stage not only because of the weak economic outlook, but because of the structural problems that still need to be urgently fixed.
It’s true that the challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality remain what they were before the election. But the re-elected ANC government now has a powerful, renewed mandate to tackle them with the help of the National Development Plan and in cooperation with the private sector.
If you consider the opposition parties’ support for the plan, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the mandate for the NDP from the electorate was probably about 90%.
President Jacob Zuma’s ANC government must now capitalise on its electoral success by coupling the appointment of his new cabinet with a strong message that it intends to hit the ground running by imple- menting the NDP.
No more procrastination — we need an implementation plan with strict deadlines. No other single factor would do as much to boost investor confidence as the certainty and predictability of policy direction this would provide. Early noises from ANC leaders have been reassuring and it is important to stay on message about the NDP.
Of course, other legislation and policy must also be aligned with the plan to promote policy coherence.
Although the NDP is neither perfect nor complete, we can’t afford to go back to the “old normal” of policy uncertainty. At least it provides a broadly acceptable framework for policy direction to 2030 and is generally supported by business.
What happens in the cabinet will be important. The former driver of the development plan, planning minister Trevor Manuel, has ceased to be a cabinet minister and the future of the National Planning Commission is unclear. Yet strong political and technical backing is essential to get traction for the NDP.
The spotlight will now fall on the functions that will be given to the ANC’s deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was involved in the preparation of the NDP, and on the cabinet appointments to the economic team.
Key portfolios include finance, trade and industry, economic development, labour and public enterprises. Small business could be catered for through a dedicated deputy minister at the Department of Trade and Industry, rather than a separate ministry in what is already an excessively large cabinet.
Although it is Zuma’s prerogative to choose his cabinet, the truth is that he does not have a free hand.
It is a truism of realpolitik that all presidents have political debts to pay and ideological balances to maintain.
But in Zuma’s case, the imperatives of job-rich growth and investor confidence at least require a highly technocratic component in the selection of those ministers indispensable to translating the NDP targets into reality. There is no real option but to leave fiscal and monetary policy in safe hands.
So how will South Africa keep track of the big picture? For a start, Zuma could table an annual report on the NDP in parliament, which would help to identify the milestones to 2030 and encourage feedback.
For the plan to work, the business sector’s commitment must be harnessed more effectively. Of course, there is also a reciprocal obligation on the private sector to step up to the plate on its obligations under the NDP.
The problem between business and the government has been the trust deficit between the two. Creative ways must be found to restore that trust. The inescapable fact is that unless the plan is seen as an opportunity for all the major players to turn over a new leaf, this country will not be able to generate an economy that will be bigger, stronger and better by 2030.
Parsons is a professor at North-West University’s business school and a former special policy adviser to Business Unity South Africa