South Africa needs policy reform if it is to scale the economic ladder, as current incoherent policies are contributing to unemployment, “the greatest challenge that [the country] faces.”

This was the number one factor that led to companies divesting in the country, said Mmusi Maimane, the newly elected leader of the opposition party Democratic Alliance.

“Many companies are saying that we want to do business . . .and invest in South Africa, but we are uncertain of what [the country] will look like in a few months or a few years,” he pointed out.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa breakfast briefing, he said he was facing the same frustration.

“I face the frustration of a lacklustre, confused leadership given by [the] African National Congress (ANC). One day, they agree that the economic future of South Africa must be expressed by how we use the National Development Plan; on another day, [a different] policy direction is taken.

“Trust emerges out of policy. To be honest with you, I do not trust this government, because I am unsure of what will happen tomorrow. [It doesn’t help] if policy is incoherent and inconsistent,” he stated.

Maimane noted that policy inconsistencies created a lack of confidence among global investors about the future of South Africa’s economy.

“If we are going to achieve the economic growth required for us to be able to address the challenge of unemployed South Africans, we have to settle, once and for all, on what policy we are going to take.

“It worries me that the NDP addresses land reform in a particular way,” Maimane highlighted, adding that, in Parliament, certain Ministers were presenting proposals that were entirely different to that set out in the NDP.

“Without fail, the ANC government has given up on the people of South Africa, instead of focusing on resources, they are involved in a programme of their own,” he averred.

ESKOM PROBLEMS
He further noted that there was no doubt that South Africa was faced with a backlog of infrastructure development. “Our development programme must be at the forefront of what we do if we are to address the economic equality that we see.

“The starting point is here in Gauteng. I was fascinated recently by the fact that the ANC was marching against Eskom – the irony of all ironies as to how a whole organisation marches against itself. Are they going to march against e-tolls when South Africa is refusing to pay for it?” he asked.

Maimane stated that the State-owned utility was “holding South Africa’s economy hostage” and that the monopolised control of energy was outdated and would not deliver on the economic outcomes of the country.

“If we really are going to address the supply of energy to our economy, we must allow for Eskom to face competition. I am not on the privatisation bandwagon, but we have to allow for Eskom to manage the build programme completely and we must take the grid away from them.

“If we do not allow competition to take place, Eskom will continue to hold us to ransom,” he said.

He also stated that the implementation of e-tolls on national roads, would create a stranglehold on the economy. “Nobody doubts that we must build road infrastructure, but to triple-tax South Africans is a crime and not sustainable to the economy.”

Further, Maimane added that, if South Africa was to achieve the desired investment confidence, it needed to invest in economic infrastructure that locals could depend on and build their businesses on.

He highlighted that South Africa’s future could only be sustainable if there were more small businesses. “We cannot be a nation of employees, we must be a nation of employers. Rather than talking about five-million jobs, it is better to talk about one-million entrepreneurs.”