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ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

South African income inequality is amongst the highest in the world. Half of South Africa’s adult population lives below the poverty line, 39.7% of working-age South Africans are without employment, and only four out of ten South Africans under 35 are employed. This, in no uncertain terms, is a national crisis and urgent action is non-negotiable.

South Africa’s government has failed to reverse the damage caused by Apartheid-era discriminatory practices, and after the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African economy is at the brink of collapse. The livelihood of millions of South Africans is at stake, and there is no more time for talk, urgent action is needed.

We must act, urgently, as one to address the following factors at the heart of South Africa’s economic hardship:

  • Political mismanagement and interference: policy uncertainty as a result of adherence to outdated ideological dogma, draconian labour laws, the political power of labour unions, unwise fiscal policy, a failure to maintain the rule of law and bureaucratic overreach are trademarks of this government and have compromised economic growth.
  • Lack of competitiveness: the unaddressed skills deficit in our labour market, the high cost of doing business, international competitiveness and weak integration into global value chains means that the South African economy is underperforming.
  • Economic infrastructure: decades of mismanagement of economic infrastructure, ineffective strategies to address spatial inequalities, failing SOEs, unreliable electricity supply and poor ICT adoption and access constricts our economic performance.

What We Believe

  • We must act as one to build a prosperous, growing, and sustainable economy that provides meaningful employment to more South Africans. Inclusive economic growth is vital to addressing the legacy of our past.
  • We support a competitive, market-based economy with minimal government interference. We see entrepreneurs and the private sector as valued and trusted partners in our efforts to create jobs and reduce inequality.
  • The role of government is not to create jobs, but to create a conducive environment in which businesses can grow and provide meaningful employment and dignity to more South Africans, and to assist those who cannot help themselves.
  • Social grants are necessary to protect the most vulnerable in our society and serve as a vital safety net for those who cannot help themselves. But, our priority must be to ensure that those who are able to work, have the means to take control of their own futures through earning a living.
  • The best way to achieve broader participation in the economy is not through race-based policies that favour politically connected elites, but through improving the ease of doing business for entrepreneurs and aggressively expanding access to economic opportunity.
  • We will provide incentives to ensure that greater diversity is achieved in the private sector.
  • Bureaucratic red tape and draconian labour laws are hurdles to unlocking economic potential. Economic policy must be overhauled to reduce the cost of doing business and incentivise private sector investment, both domestic and international.
  • We believe that government must seek to increase revenue by growing the economy and expanding the tax-paying population, rather than through increasing tax rates.
  • State intervention should be limited to preventing market failures and to manage public resources for the benefit of society at large.
  • We do not believe that a turnaround is possible overnight. Instead, we acknowledge the need for structural reform that will take time, but which must be augmented by a focus on critical, practical, implementable, and measurable projects that will have direct impacts.

Our Solutions Blueprint

  • Lead the revitalisation of South Africa’s economy by emphasising ethical, evidence-based and long-term orientated political leadership and taking a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.
  • Commit to making tough and necessary economic policy decisions based on the best available economic evidence and wisdom, even if such decisions may be unpopular. We will reject decisions made solely for political expediency or in pursuit of factional battles.
  • Decrease government’s regulatory role in the economy by reforming labour legislation, reducing trade restriction, rejecting protectionary measures and providing the regulatory environment necessary for the private sector to thrive.
  • Promote public-private partnerships by amending the prohibitive and overly complex legislative framework regulating such partnerships.
  • Strengthen and increase the independence of economic institutions, including the Competition Commission, National Treasury, the Financial and Fiscal Commission, South African Revenue Services and Statistics South Africa, by depoliticising them and making appointments to them based on merit, competence and a commitment to ethical service.
  • Merge the Departments of Communications, Employment and Labour, Finance, Small Business Development, Tourism and Trade and Industry into a single Department of Economic and Financial Affairs. Many of the current government functions must be transferred to sector-level independent regulators.
  • Reform state expenditure through the overhaul of the state’s procurement mechanisms. Market-related prices, quality and delivery are key tenets for doing business with the state. Service providers will be held accountable if they fail to meet contractual requirements.
  • Transform and professionalise the public sector to ensure a competent and capable civil service.
  • Allow the establishment of public-benefit corporations that may pursue societal goals in addition to maximising shareholder-profit.
  • Incentivise long-term planning through tax incentives and allowing shareholders to hold the boards of companies liable if they make decisions driven by short-term profit at the cost of the long-term sustainability of the company.
  • Take decisive action to improve the rule of law in South Africa.
  • Act decisively and adopt sensible policies based on core principles. These policies must be flexible enough to ensure resilience in times of change.
  • Make the policy-making process transparent. We will emphasise consultation with economic and financial experts over consultation with political interest groups.
  • Address land reform with a comprehensive action plan relying on existing legislation.
  • Stabilise South Africa’s electricity supply with policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage independent power producers to generate, transmit and distribute renewable sources of energy.
  • Maintain the independence of the South African Reserve Bank and allow it to ensure stable monetary policy.
  • Address legislative gaps, repeal anti-growth legislation, and reduce legal and regulatory barriers to economic growth.
  • Target a reduction of government’s debt-to-GDP to below 70% in the long-term, debt interest payments to under 6% of expenditure and government deficit to below 3% in the medium-term.
  • Be guided by the goal of expanding the tax-paying population by empowering an increasing number of people to participate in the formal economy.
  • Improve South Africa’s sovereign credit risk ratings to attract investment for economic infrastructure projects.
  • Reduce government expenditure by addressing the public sector wage bill, privatising unprofitable state-owned entities that do not serve essential government functions, reforming the performance of necessary state-owned entities and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the state.
  • Increase South Africa’s gross savings and investment rate towards the 30%-level over the long term.
  • Decrease the political interference of labour unions through mandating the separation of political parties and labour unions. While we acknowledge the critical role of labour unions, they must not be able to dictate government decisions at the expense of providing employment opportunities to the millions of unemployed South Africans.
  • Reform South Africa’s draconian labour law regime by adopting a regulatory approach that provides necessary protections to workers, but that is aligned with the reality of high unemployment and low productivity.
  • Relax the requirements for dismissal based on poor performance and shift the burden of improvement of performance to the employee.
  • Unlock the job-creation potential of SMMEs by increasing affirmative action thresholds.
  • Repeal and replace B-BBEE and reform affirmative action policies in favour of growth-driven policies that lead to proper diversification of the economy.
  • Relax immigration regulations and implement programmes to attract skilled labour to South Africa.
  • Conducting a comprehensive audit of the bureaucratic barriers to doing business and removing all non-essential procedures, forms, licences and regulations to improve the ease of doing business.
  • Partnering with commercial banks to provide innovative and alternative funding options to entrepreneurs.
  • Providing tax rebates for start-ups within the first tax year of operation to off-set the regulatory costs of starting a business.
  • Establishing a single online platform where businesses can complete all the necessary regulatory steps required by entities such as the CIPC, SARS, the Department of Labour, the CIBD, the UIF and local governments. We will actively take steps to promote access to the platform.
  • Increasing the exemption threshold for affirmative action measures from R10 million annual turnover to R50 million annual turnover.
  • Removing the 51% black ownership threshold for firms with an annual turnover under R100 million.
  • Adopting innovative payment systems that ensure all enterprise doing business with the state are paid within 30 days of completing their contractual duties.
  • Increase the ease of doing business in the informal sector and reduce barriers to formalisation.
  • Reduce labour law restrictions and bureaucratic red-tape, improve the rule of law and stabilise energy supply, making South Africa an attractive market for international investors.
  • Reform education and skills development to empower South Africans to be employers rather than employees make the South African labour force internationally competitive.
  • Reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa by improving the ease of acquiring construction permits, getting electricity supply, registering property and trading across borders.
  • Upskill our workforce and expand investment into ICT infrastructure to meet the needs of a changing global economy.
  • Leverage the economic potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement through a cohesive national strategy aimed at utilising South Africa’s competitive advantages in the country’s economic size, the banking and corporate sector and advanced infrastructure.
  • Provide permanent residence status to anyone who invests over R20 million in immovable property.
  • Reduce the barriers to trade at South Africa’s ports to increase the efficiency of our exports and imports.
  • Utilise South Africa’s agricultural potential by adopting programmes to increase agricultural productivity and invest in trade infrastructure to improve export potential.
  • Provide limited and conditional tax holidays for international companies that want to establish operations in South Africa, and who will employ more than 500 people for at least three years.
  • Identify areas of competitive advantage and implement projects aimed at import replacement and improving exports.
  • Immediately release telecommunications spectrum to attract investment into new infrastructure capable of unlocking the potential of telecommunications technology and the internet of things.
  • Advance the green and circular economy by providing incentives for innovation in sustainable economic practices and gradually move towards renewable resource industries.
  • Promote urban-led economic growth by incentivising inner-city development projects, and reducing the onerous and complex nature of South Africa’s land-use legislation.
  • Unlock the potential of the business process outsourcing industry by leveraging South Africa’s English-language skills, relatively inexpensive labour costs and favourable time-zone.
  • Increase the potential of the medical devices industry by relaxing regulations for producing medical devices and targeted skills development.
  • Improve spatial justice by unlocking the potential of township economies through targeted incentives that create jobs closer to where millions of South Africans live.
  • Legalise commercial farming of cannabis and hemp products to unlock the benefits of potential early-adopter advantage.
  • Create jobs in the textile manufacturing industry by capitalising on cost-advantages created by current exchange rates.
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Act as One to build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all South Africans.