ANC WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF THE NEW GROWTH PATH STRATEGY BY GOVERNMENT

The African National Congress (ANC) welcomes the release of the New Growth Path by government yesterday, 23nd November 2010.

The vision of the growth path, to ensure that 5 million new jobs are created by 2020 is the basis for a common vision that can unite society. In spite of a number of years of growth prior to the recession and the recovery of the economy from the recession, not enough jobs are being created. The level of unemployment, and the resultant poverty and inequality in the society needs extraordinary measures.

The ANC placed these challenges before the electorate and set out in our Manifesto a number of measures to address the high levels of joblessness. We called for alignment of all economic policy towards the goals of job creation and set out a vision for broad-based industrialisation.

These ideas have now been incorporated in the policy-framework of government.

In the New Growth Path, government has set out a compelling vision and identified the key jobs drivers where new jobs can be created on scale.

We support the emphasis on improving the labour-absorbing capacity of the economy, of placing decent work at the centre of economic policies and of using infrastructure investment and skills development to promote more inclusive growth. In this regard, the New Growth Path builds on the policies adopted the Polokwane Conference of the ANC, in particular the resolution on economic transformation.

The recent National General Council of the ANC held in Durban supported the focus on infrastructure, the agriculture value-chain, mining and beneficiation, manufacturing, tourism and the green economy. These areas have all now been confirmed in the New Growth Path.

The ANC has called for decisive action to address the rising income inequalities in the society. We are pleased that the New Growth Path identifies this as a key challenge and that it sets out proposals to improve the equity in the economy, principally through the creation of decent work.

We note and support the call for the setting up of a state-owned mining company. We also welcome the call to explore the establishment of a state-owned bank as a critical instrument to address market failure in the financing of small and emerging enterprises. These initiatives will assist towards increased beneficiation of minerals and greater access to finance for poor and rural areas.

We are pleased that there is a greater focus in ensuring co-ordination of monetary and fiscal policy tools in order to support competitive industrial development, particularly manufacturing.

The emphasis on skills is welcomed, as is the targets on engineers and artisans and the call for greater on-the-job training.

The ANC calls on all South Africans to unite behind the vision to create five million new jobs and to support the call for a shared solidarity.

Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, ANC National Spokesperson, November 24 2010

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