ActionSA believes President Cyril Ramaphosa should use his Opening of Parliament Address on tomorrow evening to announce concrete steps about how the grand coalition plans to grow the economy and create jobs. After 30 years of democracy, the lives of most South Africans have simply gotten worse, and therefore urgent interventions are necessary to bring change to our people.

It is precisely because of this reality that the 29th of May represented the voters’ rebuke of previous failed administrations who could not deliver on their promises. Therefore, it is incumbent on the President to set the tone on how the grand coalition will do things differently with particular regard to political accountability and stability and policy certainty to attract both local and foreign direct investment to grow our economy.

It is abundantly clear that after six years as South African President, Ramaphosa has been unable to grow the economy and create jobs. Instead, his policies have been job-destroying leading to a more difficult life for most South Africans. The Unemployment Rate in South Africa skyrocketed from 27,1% in 2018 at the start of his presidency to 32.9% today - forcing thousands of people into state dependency and poverty.

It is essential that the grand coalition announce new and innovative interventions which will, in the short-term, lead to accelerated economic growth which will create jobs, and thereby improve the lives of all South Africans. The people of South Africa have simply suffered long enough from high unemployment, load shedding, rising fuel prices and a cost-of-living crisis.

ActionSA believes this can be achieved by reforming labour laws to make it easier for businesses to hire new employees, removing the bureaucratic hurdles for private sector investment and allowing private competition at our ports, railways and energy generation industries. According to careful monitoring by statisticians, we believe these interventions, among others, will be able to create 4.8 million new jobs within five years.

Additionally, ActionSA’s social justice policy aims to further improve the lives of the most marginalised South Africans by introducing a universal basic income grant, introducing an opportunity fund to undo the legacy of Apartheid by creating wealth for our people and encouraging companies to appoint marginalised groups through certain tax credits.

In addition to the aforementioned, ActionSA will be looking forward to bold announcements on the following areas of concern which include:

• Immigration reforms;
• Curbing crime;
• Arresting corruption;
• Reform of Energy sector
• Insourcing of the State’s core business; and
• Mass infrastructure build and maintenance.

It is critical that, if the next five years of the 7th Administration are to achieve any measurable success, the President must announce clear plans to get our country back on a growth trajectory and commit to doing away with failed policies that have dissuaded local and foreign direct investment and hobbled our economy.

ActionSA looks forward to keeping the grand coalition government accountable to improve the lives of our people as soon as possible. 

We will not allow the  grand coalition to prioritise themselves and their own cronies through the introduction of the largest cabinet in the world. It is only through taking difficult actions - such as reforming labour laws and reducing the cabinet size - that we can fix South Africa.

 

Issued by ActionSA Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip