President Zuma looked much more relaxed and confident as he delivered his State of the Nation address last night. The speech itself was an improvement on previous years. It may have lacked an overall vision, but it did contain some important - and welcome - policy announcements.
 
It is very important in a maturing democracy that areas of policy consensus emerge between government and opposition. The political debate then turns to the question of HOW results can best be achieved.

In certain areas of public policy, we are slowly moving in that direction. This is a welcome development. The DA and the ANC both agree that job-creating economic growth is South Africa's top priority. The question now is: how can we best achieve this goal?

It is encouraging to hear the President announcing several key DA policy proposals in his speech, which shows that the years of research, debate, and interventions by the DA in opposition are having an impact. 

But even more important than influencing government policy from the opposition benches is winning elections. That is what the DA is increasingly doing. We are doing it so that we can address South Africa's manifold challenges more effectively from the government benches.

As expected, job creation was the centrepiece of the President's speech. He made an encouraging reference to the key role of the private sector in job creation. He also proposed an integration of Khula, the Apex Fund and the IDC's small business fund into one unit focused on supporting small business - a very fine idea   Most of the rest of his policy proposals, however, appeared to be repackaged versions of old announcements.

The "R9 billion jobs fund" seems to be the Youth Wage Subsidy announced by the President last year, but rebranded, perhaps to sidestep union opposition. It is a great pity that ideological resistance to this idea inside the ANC-alliance has prevented this subsidy from being implemented thus far, but the idea remains a good one. It has been central to the DA's jobs policies for many years.

President Zuma also referred to the "12i Income Tax Allowance Incentive" announced by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies in November last year. This incentive amounts to R20 billion in tax breaks to promote investments, expansions and upgrades in the manufacturing sector. We welcomed it at the time it was announced, and we do so again today.
 
These ideas - if implemented correctly - will make it easier to get a job and easier to create a job.

The problem is that these policies are likely to be undermined by other policies designed to appease the ANC's alliance partners. Turning the state into an employment bureau, for example, will hinder job creation because it necessitates more state spending and is almost guaranteed to be mired in red-tape and inefficiency. 

If it follows the example of some other state owned enterprises it will be a disaster. Instead of starting another massive bureaucracy, the President should focus on fixing Transnet and Telkom, which would do more to create jobs than almost any other state intervention could.

While the President paid lip service to the role of the private sector in job creation, some of his announcements amount to an unwelcome intrusion of the state into sectors where businesses would operate more efficiently, generate more taxes and employ more workers. The two most glaring examples are the creation of a state mining company and the upgrading of Postbank into a fully-fledged state-owned bank. Mining and banking are sectors which should be regulated to maximise equity and economic efficiency, and where the state should extract taxes and royalties. Any involvement by government beyond this will crowd out the private sector, embed inefficiencies and destroy economic value.
 
More encouraging was what President Zuma said about education. He announced the compulsory literacy and numeracy testing of all grade 3, 6, 9 learners -- a policy that the DA began implementing in the Western Cape ten years ago, when it had a brief stint in office. He also made mention of the ‘triple T' (teachers, textbooks, time), which was my mantra when I was the provincial education minister from 1999 to 2001, and which I have repeated since at numerous Cabinet Lekgotlas. It is gratifying to hear that the President is listening.
 
There appears to be a willingness on the part of national government to be pragmatic about policy-making. If a policy is proven to work or is based on a sound idea then it should be adopted, whichever party it originates from.
 
Take, for example, the DA's social development policy released shortly before the election last year. The policy proposed, amongst other things, that Child Support Grants be given on the condition that the child has been immunised, has adequate food, and has been attending school regularly. This is to make sure that the benefits of the grant are felt directly by the children and that the child's reliance on the grant is decreased over time. In his speech last night, the President promised something very similar: "...the social grants will be linked to economic activity and community development, to enable short-term beneficiaries to become self-supporting in the long run."
 
In the areas of policy convergence that I have cited above, the debate must focus on different strategies to achieve important outcomes. And, in particular, it must focus on implementation and delivery.

At the most recent Cabinet Lekgotla, I had the opportunity to have an informal discussion with the President about the importance of ensuring that the Western Cape fulfills its constitutional mandate to the full so that every South African could compare policy outcomes. I suggested that the ANC should regard the DA-governed Western Cape as an opportunity for South Africa's democracy, not as a threat. With his inimitable charm, he agreed. I intend to take him at his word.

Next Friday, in the State of the Province address, I will announce the Western Cape's plan to advance our vision of the open, opportunity society for all. Working co-operatively with other spheres of government, and in partnership with the private sector and civil society, we will use the full extent of our constitutional powers to achieve a better life for all.

This article by Helen Zille first appeared in SA Today, the weekly online newsletter of the leader of the Democratic Alliance.

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