As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to push South Africa’s economy towards a continuous downward spiral, both the ANC, through its Economic Transformation Committee, and Business For SA have put forward what they believe is the best plan to pull the country out of economic freefall.
We have summarised the core principles of each plan below. You can access each plan in its entirety by clicking on the links below.
- Focus on infrastructure including investing in energy, water and sanitation, roads and bridges, human settlements, health and education, digital infrastructure and public transport.
- Increased localisation including maximising the use of South African-made materials and construction companies as well as labour-intensive methods.
- The establishment of an infrastructure development agency within the Presidency to assist with project management within SOEs.
- Proposes the establishment of a State Owned Pharmaceutical Company to limit the import of pharmaceutical products and focus on the provision of ARVs and the local sourcing of ingredients for the manufacture of ARVs.
- Process towards the establishment of properly capitalised and governed State Bank.
- The ANC is of the view that the constitutionally-independent South African Reserve Bank (SARB) should be fully state owned.
- Promote investment in key productive sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, mining and tourism.
- Expediting digital migration and spectrum allocation to reduce data costs for households and firms.
- Explore growth and job creation potential of energy-related investments including green industries.
- Industrialisation and the expansion of South Africa’s productive sectors through increased international trade.
- Changes should be made to Regulation 28 under the Pension Funds Act to enable cheaper access to finance for development.
- Ensure increased competition in the banking sector to provide better access to SMMEs and households in historically disadvantaged areas.
- Tackle crime and corruption and urgently implement a zero-tolerance policy.
- Improve ease of doing business by simplifying regulations, reviewing supply chains and tackling market concentration.
- Mobilise large scale infrastructure projects in various sectors including the metal and chemical industry as well as roads and energy.
- SOE reform to provide better services and limit state subsidies. B4SA acknowledged that this will lead to job losses but these jobs could be absorbed by the private sector.
- Clarity on land reform as greater certainty could attract investments and lower the cost of doing business.
- Education and skills development which could lead to improved labour force capabilities and bolster much-needed entrepreneurial and technical skills.
- Review trade policies to better support local procurement and manufacturing and incentivise strategic value chains.
- Labour law reform which could bring about a more efficient labour system focused on decent work and greater overall efficiency.
- Simplify mining investment regulations by implementing a comprehensive review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act while also addressing increasing electricity supply costs.
- Align national energy strategy across all key plans with the aim of providing affordable and reliable energy and transitioning to a lower carbon energy mix which could in turn lead to large scale investment.
- Maximise telecommunications connectivity for all and speeding up digital migration.
- Financial inclusion and fiscal support to drive job growth, reducing barriers to competition and facilitating deeper and more meaningful financial inclusion.