Zubeida
Jaffer writes:
Government ministers reported to conference
yesterday on an administrative plan to ensure that all elements of economic
planning speak as one voice.
Gugile Nkwinti, Minister of Rural
Development and Land Reform, sketched an outline of how the National
Development Plan and the Infrastructure roll-out plan will be part of a jointly
administered arrangement.
He spoke after Trevor Manuel presented the
National Democratic Plan to the full plenary of the conference for discussion
in the commissions. Ebrahim Patel, who serves as Minister of Economic Development
in the Zuma government, followed Manuel with a detailed presentation of the
Infrastructure Roll-Out Plan at the centre of the New Growth Path.
Nkwinti’s presentation lay to rest the
ongoing speculation that government was following different approaches to
growing the economy.
Also part of the behind-the-scenes
negotiations around details of the economic way forward is Jeremy Cronin who
declined nomination to the NEC this week. Cronin, who is Deputy Minister of
Public Administration and Land Reform, said that he expects there to be
dissenting voices in the economic commission. Despite this he is convinced that
the key outcomes at the Policy Conference in June 2012 will continue to lay the
basis of the vision of the ANC. “We will accommodate some of Cosatu’s concerns
as well as business concerns but essentially I don’t expect there to be major
changes,” he said.
Cosatu wants a bold shift in the
government’s macroeconomic framework. This means they want interest rates to be
lowered by the Reserve Bank and want government to increase spending to stimulate
the economy.
Government’s position, according to Ebrahim
Patel, is that it will seek to get more value for its money. “We have to stop the leakage,” he said. “There
are enormous challenges because we have such extreme poverty in our country.”
The
greatest challenge will be to agree on a social pact where everyone has to give
a little,” he said. “Neither Cosatu nor business are likely to get exactly what
they want. In effect we are following an
expansionary approach but this requires further coordination around wage
bargaining,” he said.
Patel reported to conference that 670,000
new jobs had been created in the past two years since the launch of the New
Growth Path. “This takes into account the job losses. Our net gain has been
670,000,” he said.
With the massive infrastructure roll-out
plan already kick-started, Patel expects ongoing job growth within the next
year. Two groups of delegates constitute the commission on the economy and will
end their deliberations today.
**Cronin has confirmed that he, like Trevor
Manuel, will continue to serve in government until the end of their term in 14
months time unless the president decides otherwise.
