Today’s announcement of the “ANC’s Economic Action Plan” by President Cyril Ramaphosa mirrors much of the DA’s “Plan to Turbocharge the Economy,” which identified roadblocks that needed to be removed to build superhighways towards growth and jobs. The ANC’s plan just adds its own failed ideas of BEE and race based policy to the DA’s plan announced last month.
It is unacceptable that more than a year after the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), the annualised GDP growth remains at 0.6% and unemployment has risen to 33.2%.
Despite the achievements of DA Ministers in the GNU in generating growth and jobs in their respective departments, their ANC counterparts, who oversee key portfolios, have instead acted as a brake on vital economic reforms.
While we agree with several of the reforms proposed by President Ramaphosa, such as private sector participation in electricity and logistics, professionalising the civil service, ringfencing revenue for reinvestment into critical network infrastructure, and expanding support for SMEs, we question his ANC Ministers’ ability to implement these reforms at the required speed and depth.
Furthermore, we remain concerned at his continued defence of the ANC’s failed Black Economic Empowerment policy (BEE), which has deterred investment, stifled growth, and benefited ANC cadres at the expense of the vast majority of black South Africans who remain trapped in poverty and excluded from opportunity.
Alternatively, South Africa needs a genuine empowerment model that makes a tangible impact in poor communities and creates a pathway out of poverty and into prosperity. This is why the DA will shortly be introducing legislation into Parliament to do exactly that.
The ANC’s declining electoral support is a direct consequence of its failure to deliver services, cadre deployment, and mismanagement of the economy.
The DA will lend our support to reforms aimed at turbocharging the economy, but will continue to oppose and change those policies which undermine growth and jobs.