We must support the agenda for change and hope for all

It is a breath of fresh air and holds the potential to usher in change and bring hope for many South Africans. It could not have come at a better time.

It is to be welcomed by all South Africans who are concerned about the depressing, downward trajectory the country was diverted into during the past decade and fervently want to extricate it from the political instability, policy uncertainty and grand scale corruption. It was a toxic cocktail which almost pushed the country to a precipice.

In the current socio-economic situation characterized by massive statistical 29% unemployment and youth unemployment upward of 54%, grinding poverty levels upward of 51% of households and the resultant accompanying endemic crime and other social ills, it becomes imperative to approach the discussion with a clear and open mind and to objectively engage with the proposals presented by the paper.

The turbulent sea of unemployed people and those who have given up hope, who collectively exceed 10 million, have lost patience and are tired of cheap politicking, rhetoric and stale ideological fixations. Every day, desperate people burn a tar road, clinic or library because these are owned by a state that is serially failing them. They march and picket to demand real and genuine change to better their lives. Foreign owned shops are looted under different guises and foreign truck drivers are attacked because they are accused of “stealing the jobs” of locals.

The introduction of GEAR in the mid-1990s was widely accepted as being necessary and an appropriate remedy to address the existential challenges of macro-economic instability, debt crisis and stalled economic growth. Today it is almost universally agreed that the impact of GEAR proved to have been the right remedy to cushion the country from the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis. Even Gwede Mantashe acknowledged this on ENCA on 29 August 2019.

Its benefits were in the form of sustainability of government public subsidy programmes in health, education, housing and other important services. These benefits were used wastefully by the new incumbents in power post 2009 during the “9 wasted years”. They helped the ANC during elections campaigns. But as the money ran out owing to a lack of prudent management of resources, looting and disastrous economic policy choices, voters began to show their increasing disapproval.

Those overzealous ideologues who smeared GEAR and attached all sorts of labels against it prior to and during the “9 wasted” years, showed no shame in claiming personal glory for the impact of that strategic policy once they were in government. Conveniently forgotten was their slur of its being a “rightwing” policy. They enjoyed their perks because GEAR had been in place.

As happened previously, noisy voices from within the so-called Alliance are once again rushing to rubbish Tito Mboweni’s paper without any thorough objective analysis. Some who are calling it incoherent are ironically incoherent themselves. One wonders if they had even read it before their boring and unconvincing press conference.

A decade after Zuma’s disastrous years in power, it is imperative that we waste no further time in rebuilding our devastated economy and creating jobs at a rapid rate. We cannot and must not be dragged back into a repeat of the “Nintendo” ideological games that many in the ANC fold have played in the last decade. That will deny the poor a chance of putting a plate of food on the table of their families.

The only way of achieving a ”better life” for the majority is through the breaking of the ideological shackles that have snagged the economy. It is abundantly clear that we need to raise the bar higher to achieve viable and practical economic solutions for the long term sustainability of the economy and the restoration of the well-being of the nation. We cannot afford yet another period of policy inertia.

We must bear in mind that other nations are forging ahead with higher economic growth performances in an integrated world economic system of which we are inextricably linked. From an initial study of the paper I am bold to say that it is well researched and obviously evidence based. It is underpinned by empirical and methodical analysis of the South African economic reality and is devoid of any subjectivity or political arrogance. I therefore believe that paper has to be embraced by the nation.

As we engage with paper objectively and creatively, the solutions that are being offered can be improved to overcome the many economic and financial crises we face in our country. It puts forward proposals that resonate with many of us on account of our own observations. They also accord with recommendations made continuously by various stakeholders: independent economists, ordinary citizens and private sector organisations.

A very large segment of society has been frustrated by the failure of government to enter into a transparent policy engagement. Finally we have awakened to the fact that Moody’s is a month or two away from making a new rating determination and that the National Treasury is bare, somebody in government has had the guts to kick the door open.

 The document acknowledges that: “Inequality contributes to extremely divergent views, which make compromise difficult – the resulting stalemate and policy uncertainty can contribute to economic weakness”. We need to heed this warning and tread carefully in search of workable and inclusive solutions. The paper released by National Treasury points in which direction we need to go. It cannot be Déjà Vu once again and therefore it cannot be that we jettison sound and valid propositions that seek to rebuild the shattered economy.

We desperately need the government, led by President Ramaphosa, to take a strong leadership role in pushing ahead with these necessary reforms with all the alacrity it can.

GEAR was strongly supported and led by none other than the late President Nelson Mandela. For that reason it worked.

We cannot entertain any equivocation or vacillation from the government. Filibustering while Rome is burning will be a betrayal of the citizens of our country. This must be resisted and viewed as anti-progress, anti-revolutionary and anti-poor.

The democratically elected government, not some unelected lumpen ”cadres” with a false sense of self-importance, must show real leadership and come to the fore to bring about change and instil hope among the dejected South Africans.

Tito Mboweni has raised his hand. We should all take his hand to rebuild our battered economy and give solace to our souls. Let’s engage fully, intelligently and creatively in the battle of ideas.

Pakes Dikgetsi is MD: Karabo Strategic Advisory and ormerly: COPE National Chairperson (2014-2019)

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