‘Radical Economic Transformation’ a response to ANC state-capture faction
Albert Einstein famously said, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’
It was with much interest and maybe even with baited breathe that President Jacob Zuma proudly announced to South Africans in his State of the Nation Address, that his Government would be embarking upon radical economic transformation (RET). One can only then wonder what his government has been doing for the last 22 years and why only now, they are bringing ‘RET’ to the fore.
For far too long, the ANC and President Zuma have governed like they have been in opposition, unable to change the economic environment for small businesses and entrepreneurs in order for them to make a living and contribute to our economy. All manner of excuses have been rolled out from various ‘challenges’ to the slowdown in world economic growth, electricity blackouts under the watch of the ANC and this year’s catch phrase, ‘white monopoly capital’.
The truth is that the ANC has the ability and importantly, the majority, to write policies, laws and by-laws that will make it easier for small businesses to grow, yet they have failed on every score. Small businesses are largely marginalised in the mainstream economy with the same marginalisation inflicted by the ANC government.
What they have done rather, is make it incredibly difficult for anyone outside of the ‘Zupta’ circle to make a decent living. From cumbersome regulations, to lack of access to capital for black entrepreneurs, to government departments paying suppliers late, the ANC government has become the enemy to anyone with or starting a business.
The ANC and President Zuma think by putting the word ‘radical’ in front of ‘economic transformation’, this will somehow make it more ‘radical’. I believe that the new-found commitment for ‘radical economic transformation’ is actually a response to pressure from the state-capture faction of the ANC.
‘RET’ is the perfect excuse to change procurement rules and the BEE Codes of Good Practice under the guise of speeding up transformation which in fact will allow for more tenders for cronies and well-connected friends. ‘RET’ is actually a plan for radical corruption.
In the eThekwini municipality and under the ‘Framework for Accelerating Economic Transformation’, subcontractors or service providers shall be ‘selected’ from the wards where the service is being undertaken. This will be nothing but another opportunity for the ANC to further extend patronage.
One can only imagine the local ANC branch executive ‘selecting’ who these sub-contracts will go to; including MK veterans and ANC youth league members. It is important we see this for what it is, nothing but legalised corruption and patronage all under philosophy of being ‘radical’.
The ANC government has been on the same road of self-enrichment, corruption, overseeing increasing unemployment and continued neglect of job-crushing business red-tape and now think by becoming ‘radical’, they can float the sinking ship of their government. The truth is that President Zuma and his cohort of Ministers will keep doing these same things over and over, unable to change because the vested interests in continuing this system of patronage will not allow it to end.
If we want to see real economic growth, what we really need is to deregulate city by-laws and licensing to make it cheaper and easier for businesses to start and operate as well as ensuring that all tenders are awarded in an open and transparent tender system like the DA has done in the metros where we govern.
In 2017, it seems the status quo is set to remain, Luthuli House and Tuynhuis firmly an asylum for the insane, trying desperately to do the same thing with different results, just under a new ‘radical’ name.
Dean Macpherson MP is a Member of Parliament for the Democratic Alliance and Shadow Deputy Minister for Trade & Industry
