Real redress needs an inclusive, growing economy

Are we ticking racial classification boxes or are we addressing the injustices of the past?

EUSEBIUS McKaiser’s opinion piece “Blue like Herman Mashaba” (January 18) makes it clear that he has not read my DA mayoral candidate acceptance speech.

As an agent provocateur, Mr McKaiser sets up a false choice between redress and economic inclusion. I also respect that he cherishes democracy and recognises that I have a right to reply and present my case.

I have entered this race because I am passionate about everyone in Joburg – especially the residents of Soweto and Alexandra – being able to access life-changing opportunities. This means getting everyone who can work into work, delivering services on time and efficiently and fixing our creaking infrastructure.

My stance on redress: I believe previously disadvantaged South Africans who remain marginalised must be purposefully and actively empowered. The question is: How? Yes, I have previously worked on business deals including BEE components, but in the 14 years since then, my hope that BEE would reach the majority of poor, black South Africans has been entirely dashed.

The ANC has failed to make BEE inclusive; it is clear to me that the ANC distortion of BEE has created very wealthy insiders connected to Jacob Zuma’s ANC and has failed ordinary South Africans, because it is not in any way broad.

South Africa needs reformed empowerment, so that more people benefit. The DA seeks to reform it to make it broader and inclusive. That cannot be, in any way, an undesirable outcome.

BEE today is all about number counting and quotas, and it is not changing the economic circumstances of the very South Africans it is meant to help.

So we need to ask: Are we are simply ticking racial classification boxes or addressing the injustices of the past? These are two very different things. I am for redress, but against box ticking.

Real redress is only possible if we have an inclusive and fast-growing economy with Joburg positioned at the heart of it. Only an economy that is not divided between “insiders” and “outsiders” can create the prosperity and opportunities that we need for everyone to succeed.

Our aspiration must be a South Africa where the economy grows so fast, we’ll have trouble filling jobs.

Of course, we must not lose sight of redress specifically for those marginalised by apartheid, but when the game is simply counting numbers and ticking boxes, we lose sight of the real purpose.

Without a bigger cake, there can be no redress for the people of Joburg or South Africa, and that is the real empowerment we must pursue collectively.

A middle-income country like South Africa needs to grow by at least 5 percent every year. This is something that even the ANC-led national government recognised in the National Development Plan.

As Joburg contributes nearly 17 percent to the country’s GDP, it is clear that the national story cannot be rewritten if Joburg isn’t turned around.

For a time after 1994, Joburg made progress in achieving redress. There was improved housing delivery, access to essential services and integrated transportation.

But we have stopped moving forward. The current of corruption and bad governance is pulling us backwards.

Our civic pride is diminished, and I want this city to stand tall again.

Our CBD is in decay at a time when the centres of global cities are being revitalised and attracting significant foreign direct investment. Former crime-riddled no-go zones in cities like Lima and Bogotá have left us in the dust.

In the first 100 days, I will instil a new culture that we are here only to serve the people of Joburg and not ourselves. I want city officials to be proud of being in service.

In a DA administration, the voters of Joburg will be our masters.

In the real world, citizens hire and fire businesses according to how well they have been served.

I will apply the same brand of leadership that I used to build Black Like Me into a thriving and successful business.

When I recruit, employ and train new workers, I identify the skills my companies need. With a dedicated delivery and strategy unit, I will replicate this approach to boost service delivery.

One of the ideas I am looking at is to pay unemployed citizens to help clean up our streets, fix the most basic infrastructure, and make this a city we can all be proud of.

In the public service, we will only employ people who can do the job – not friends and family.

On day one, I will ask for an audit of all officials’ skills and competencies to allocate expertise where it is needed.

There will be no purges. We will lay the foundations of the smartest and most efficient city government in Africa.

There is a truth I have known my entire life: The only true freedom is economic freedom.

Apartheid was evil, and, of course, it has shaped our identity politics, but young people are impatient with career politicians who mobilise on identity politics.

Real servants of the people know that creating jobs is the only way to redress the legacy of apartheid in Joburg.