TLU SA is still not convinced the promises made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2020 – when he finally got the opportunity to speak – is to the benefit of the country, or can be carried through.
“South Africa is caught in the ideological net of the ANC, SACP and Cosatu which have – over time – created a policy where everything possible has been done to hurt the economy,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TLU SA. “If the ANC does not use the existing skills to implement their plans ethically, it will be corrupt business as usual.”
Pres. Ramaphosa has beautiful plans to solve socio-economic problems with ‘smart cities’ on the one hand, but on the other, we have an unemployment rate of 50% under young people. People who are plunged into poverty because the ANC’s union partner prefers to keep people without jobs instead of allowing them to negotiate their wages themselves.
“The solution is not to offer more training and to create more entrepreneurs programmes,” says Mr Meintjes. “If we have no investors in the country, we have no jobs. If labour laws make it impossible to start a business without having corrupt relationships with the right people, we have no jobs. If businesses cannot afford to employ people, we have no jobs.”
The solution lies in using skilled people and transferring those skills to a new generation.
“Various institutions and individuals with exceptional skills and experience offer their help to get South Africa back on track,” says Mr Meintjes. “Their input will lead to economic growth which will result in curbing unemployment and poverty. But it looks as if the ANC is set on economically sinking the country with its trademark rhetoric.”
Ramaphosa admitted that agriculture is one of the most critical industries in the country. But it is ridiculous to state land reform will be accelerated (through expropriation without compensation) AND that agricultural production will be expanded in one sentence. It cannot be both Mr Ramaphosa. Maybe the ANC has already tested too much of the hemp products which is apparently going to save agriculture, themselves.
“We are very thankful for strategies to mitigate disasters like drought,” says Mr Meintjes. “But, will this also only reach certain farmers, as it did with drought relief? Will it reach farmers too late again, after their animals and workers had to starve?”
The course the ANC is taking is doomed to be an economic failure. If the ANC does not commit to the economic principles which have internationally proven results for growth, the SONA and the ANC’s actions have no value for South Africans.
“Actions speak louder than words, Mr Ramaphosa.”
Read the original article in Afrikaans on TLU SA
South Africa Today – South Africa News
Ramaphosa’s disappointing SONA will do nothing for economic growth
