‘Defective’ ANC policies serve ‘white monopoly capital’, says Manyi

“Defective” policies sanctioned by the African National Congress and “designed to serve white monopoly capital” are keeping South Africa from radical economic transformation, according to Progressive Professionals Forum president Jimmy Manyi.

“Most people will say that the ANC has good policies and the problem is implementation. I differ. Ninety percent of the problem is defective policies. The policies of the ANC, of this government, have been infiltrated. They serve white monopoly capital,” Manyi told a KwaZulu-Natal ANC Youth League meeting in Durban on Friday night.

Manyi said the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) had “failed dismally”.

“Year after year we hear about billions upon billions in irregular expenditure but nobody is questioning the policy instrument that is meant to prevent this. We at the Progressive Professionals Forum are saying that PFMA has failed as a guardian of how our public purse should be spent.

“It is clear that our problems in this country are defective policies. If policy is not right not much is going to happen,” he said.

The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act was also “appalling policy” and had caused poverty in South Africa.

He said section 217 of the Constitution, on provision of procurement, was the most abused section in the country. The section was made up of three subsections but only subsection one was frequently referred to.

Subsection one referred to transparency in process and efficiencies but “enemies of transformation” would ignore both remaining subsections, he said.

Subsection two stated that people who had endured apartheid needed to be recognised as having a “terrible past” which spoke to the issue of empowerment. Subsection three stated that a national framework should be put in place to effect subsection two.

Regulations such as the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) were “fiddled with” to favour “white monopoly capital”, he said.

“The PPPFA says that when you are assessing a tender 90 percent of the points must go to a company that is going to charge you less. Is it possible for a [small business owner or individual] to compete with a Raymond Ackerman? Why is it that government doesn’t understand this?”

“When we go to the ANC’s policy [conference] it must be made very clear that this PPPFA does not allow for radical economic transformation. You can’t do [bit by bit] radical economic transformation. Something must happen here and now. The ANC has got a majority in government so that it can implement the will of the people,” he said.

The ANC was causing confusion when referring to “monopoly capital” as opposed to “white monopoly capital”, Manyi said.

“Because the ANC just keeps talking about monopoly capital they create confusion. This has led to some state monopolies being targeted for de-concentration. Institutions like Eskom have become the first casualty of being de-concentrated. Where is the focus on de-concentration of white monopoly capital which is the issue that we are dealing with?”

He said it was important to note that “white monopoly capital” did not include all white people. A corner shop or a white person “walking up and down” was not white monopoly capital.

“White monopoly capital is the extreme ends of the capitalists of this country. These are the people that control the oligopolies of the industry.”

He said there was a theory that corporations should be left alone and instead people should start their own companies. “There is no ‘own’ left. The market is sewn up,” he said.

“If we don’t de-concentrate these companies we are going nowhere. We are just going to be entertaining the theory of wealth; we are going to be ‘the others’… we are not going to eat at the main table because the main table is occupied,” Manyi said.

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