Other than the Gauteng eTolls, the 2013 Grade 12 results, and Nkandlagate, what irks us, the chattering class, is the recent freefall of the rand and its implications on our savings, fuel price, and the cost of imports. Cosatu Secretary General, Zwelinzima Vavi, and his peers on the left have always argued that a weaker rand will lead to massive exports, economic growth and job creation.
The rand is currently at its lowest ebb and on its knees, but we haven't seen any improvement in exports. Instead of raw materials exports increasing, they have actually declined. Inasmuch as our mineral resources are attractive internationally, foreign countries found it extremely tedious to do business with South Africa.
There are lengthy bureaucratic processes, inadequate infrastructure (rail and harbours), and a complicated export procedure. If you are very lucky, it would only take you three weeks to get through the bureaucratic approval and two extra weeks to get your exports out of the harbour. Not surprisingly, other countries are going elsewhere to get their raw materials speedily.
Why does an export process take five weeks to complete, when it should only take eight days? The problem in South Africa is that the governing party has got no clue about how to run a sophisticated economy. The economy cannot thrive when political leadership is inefficient and ineffective. I am not suggesting that politicians should interfere in business; this would be counterproductive. The gist of my argument is that politicians should create a conducive environment for business executives to do their work.
This can be done by exercising political will, building infrastructure (airports, seaports, rail, roads and border posts) and crafting an enabling policy (safety & security, dismantling exchange control, eradicating lengthy bureaucratic process for imports and exports, etc). This view is supported by the RMB Global Markets Research (15 January 2014): "The uncertain domestic socio-political climate and delays in the public sector infrastructure roll-out will very likely continue to dampen private sector fixed investment growth. ".
Most of our people don't understand the fact that you can't get the economy right if your politics are not right. If we put the wrong crew in the Union Buildings, we shouldn't expect our economy to improve. How can we expect a person who cannot read a speech coherently to formulate policies that are suitable to our complex economy and globalisation?
Can a government that struggles to deliver books and manage primary schools properly deal competently with imports and exports models? When we vote for a political party to govern South Africa, we should think about these matters. The decision to determine what political party to vote for should not solely be based on emotions and history.
Although President Jacob Zuma was a distinguished cadre during the struggle against apartheid, I don't think he possess the necessary skills that are required to govern South Africa and create a conducive environment for our economy to thrive. In 1993 Nelson Mandela reportedly remarked that: "If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government". This means that we can vote the ANC out of power like we did to the National Party in 1994.
Sidney Mufamadi and Jabu Moleketi are good examples of politicians who successfully went back to school to improve their knowledge. When President Nelson Mandela appointed Mufamadi as the inaugural Minister of Safety and Security after the inception of a democratic dispensation in 1994, Mufamadi was merely 35 years old and did not even have an equivalent of Grade 12 qualification. Mufamadi realised that he needed to improve his knowledge in order to serve in the national executive effectively.
After pursuing part-time studies, Mufamadi obtained Masters of Science and PhD from the University of London. Moleketi thought furthering his studies would add value in his former position of being an MEC of Finance at the Gauteng Provincial Government. He completed an Advanced Management Programme in Harvard Business School and at the University of London he graduated with the Post-Graduate Diploma in Economic Principles and Masters of Science.
Increasing one's knowledge as a politician is not solely achieved by literally going back to university and register for a particular degree. Reading extensively on relevant subjects can also contribute immensely in one's knowledge. Trevor Manuel and Pravin Gordhan have formal qualifications on engineering and pharmacy respectively.
Be that as it may be, they served brilliantly as ministers of finance and their knowledge of economics is awesome. This should be attributed to extensive reading and learning on the job. The Democratic Alliance's finance spokesperson in Gauteng, Mike Moriarty is another engineer who have mastered public finance knowledge through widespread reading.
If other South African politicians follow the examples set by Mufamadi, Moleketi, Manuel, Gordhan and Moriarty they will relatively improve in managing political and economic governance.
Rabelani Dagada is a development economist based at the Wits Business School
This article first appeared in the Sunday Independent.
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