Less talk and more action
PUBLIC imagination was gripped by the ANC’s 107th birthday celebration and the launch of its manifesto for the national elections. It is a logical consequence; the ANC is the ruling party and polls, though not an exact science, suggest it will still be running this country for the next five years.
Therefore, whatever the ANC says is of interest to all citizens. Its mistakes have as much impact on citizens as do its workable policies.
The ANC inherited a dysfunctional society and a bankrupt economy. The National Party government left an empty public purse as a welcoming gift to our new democracy – a debt of $23 billion.
Over the past 24 years, the ANC government has rebuilt the economy, albeit with mistakes, and extended basic services such as water, sanitation and social grants to more than 15 million citizens.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his key address on Saturday, waxed lyrical about the achievements. But he acknowledged they would not mean much if the challenges people faced were not addressed.
One of our major challenges is youth unemployment, sitting at an estimated 53%, it is reportedly the highest in the world. This is a ticking time bomb. When the youth rise in anger out of desperation, the aftermath won’t be pleasant. We saw this during their #FeesMust Fall struggle.
The governing party lacks a practical plan on how to deal with youth unemployment. This problem has reached crisis proportions. Summit after summit have been held and papers published. But young people are not looking for another summit or analysis; they want an opportunity to earn a living.
Business and labour must come to the party. When the youth rise, business and labour will lose too. It is in our collective interest to tackle youth unemployment urgently.
Then there is the question of building an inclusive economy. The economy is controlled by a small white elite with smattering of black people here and there. Just like the unemployed youth, the time will come when the economically excluded will rise. And when they do, we will all be losers.
It was encouraging to hear the president talk about broadening the ownership of the economy by enabling workers to own stakes in the companies they work for. But this would require a mindset shift by corporate South Africa and the financial services sector. Unless corporate SA is willing to make the stakes available at fair value and the banks are willing to finance the acquisition of these, I am afraid the ruling party’s manifesto on the issue might be wishful thinking.
It was heartening to hear the president’s pronouncement that ANC’s manifesto has a specific focus on the economies of the townships and villages. Apart from promising to increase access to funding, Ramaphosa said his party would prevent the displacement of local enterprises by big retail stores. This displacement has also been caused by the influx of foreign traders.
Finally, the ruling party has woken up to the need to protect township and village traders.
On the whole, the president gave a good speech, admitting his party’s mistakes and rallying South Africans to work together. But words with no action have a way of losing credibility. I hope the promises made will be followed by action. Pastor Ray McCauley is the president of Rhema Family Churches and co-chair of National Religious Leaders Council