More policy confusion: Zuma and Gigaba contradict each other
Government has once more demonstrated its inability to articulate a coherent economic policy that will generate growth and jobs.
President Zuma reportedly stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that our government would focus on enabling the private sector to drive growth and job creation.
And yet, while President Zuma was speaking at Davos, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba , was reported as saying that he wants to centralise all state-owned entities into one super-department to drive growth and job creation.
So, which one is it? Does the national government want to unlock the potential of business to create millions of jobs? Or does it want to go with a statist approach that has been detrimental to economic growth and job creation the world over?
No wonder there is policy confusion. On the one hand we have the New Growth Path, which proposes increased state involvement in the economy and, on the other, we have the National Development Plan, which argues for less government intervention.
Which messenger and what plan can South Africans and foreign investors look to as a blueprint for out future? No one really knows, because every few weeks we hear contradicting messages.
This hurts confidence in our economy and makes job creation significantly more difficult than it ought to be.
Both Moody's and Fitch confirmed this when they downgraded South Africa's debt outlook, partly due to policy uncertainty.
The fact of the matter is that we need a coherent economy policy that is focused on helping the private sector to create as many jobs as possible. That is the path to prosperity for all South Africans.
President Zuma, now halfway through his term of office, is set to muddle through a third year of policy confusion. This can only cast doubt over our economic prospects and is likely to make job creation and economic growth even more difficult than it already is.
Statement by Dr Dion George MP, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, January 30 2012
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
