COSATU
Zingiswa Losi|Published
This week’s jobs report showing a 1.6% rise in unemployment to a staggering 43.7% and 301 000 less employed must serve as a wake-up call for government and the nation.
Unemployment is likely to rise further with the war in the Middle East and the massive international oil and fuel prices hikes.
We have a choice as a nation. We can continue to stumble along the path of tried and failed economic policies and fiscal austerity but then don’t be surprised when unemployment remains high and economic growth stays low.
Or we can learn from industrial economies who have experienced similar crises and put in place bold stimulus packages and reaped the rewards of high growth and falling unemployment.
One need look no further than America, Brazil or China to see this is the only sober and sustainable path.
A modern Marshall Plan is urgently needed.
This was done with success and against all odds during Covid-19 where President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC led government rallied business, labour and society and put in place an aggressive economic and social relief package mobilising resources from the public and private sectors.
Some elements of such a package are being put in place but need to be ramped up and accelerated.
R1.07 trillion has been allocated for infrastructure over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework yet judging by the 100 000 construction jobs lost in Quarter 1, interventions are needed to ensure these funds are spent timeously and correctly, including dealing with construction mafias.
Engagements need to take place with the Development Bank, Public Investment and Industrial Development Corporations, and other developmental financial institutions on how they can match government’s infrastructure investments.
Similar discussions are needed with pension and investment funds on how they can ramp up their investments in jobs intensive and growth rich economic sectors.
Private banks need to be engaged to make capital more accessible and affordable for SMMEs.
Eskom has done well overcoming loadshedding. It now needs support to reduce the increasingly unaffordable price of electricity.
Key to this is dealing with the rising level of municipal debt owed to Eskom, currently over R100 billion and increasing by an alarming R20 billion annually.
All consumers, including state institutions and businesses, must be moved to smart and prepaid meters. Recovering money owed to Eskom will end its dependence upon suffocating tariff hikes.
Transnet has seen positive signs of a turnaround after its previous calamitous decline.
This has provided important breathing space for the mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Yet it has not yet reached the full needs of the economy.
If we are to unlock export sectors and create badly needed jobs, then more must be done to relieve Transnet of its debt burden and invest in its infrastructure and machinery.
Similar investments need to be accelerated for Metro Rail, which provides fast and affordable transport for 10 million urban commuters.
This means workplace productivity is boosted when employees arrive at work on time and workers have more cash to spend in the economy.
Modern and efficient rail and ports along with cheap electricity lay the foundation for our economic recovery.
We need to lower the fuel levy and taxes to cushion commuters, make transport more affordable and release workers’ wages to buy goods.
Treasury needs to move away from reckless budget cuts to public services.
The working class and the economy require efficient public services, from Home Affairs to boost tourism and attract investors to modern public healthcare.
A much greater set of interventions is needed to rebuild our increasingly dysfunctional municipalities. We have seen many companies close and workers retrenched when municipalities no longer maintain roads, electricity, water and sanitation.
SARS should be allocated more resources to improve tax compliance and ensure the state has the funds needed to turn the economy around.
Mining has been the backbone of South Africa’s economy and industrialisation yet over decades of neglect it has seen the number of mineworkers plummet from over a million to just over 440 000 today and South Africa’s once dominant share of global mining investments evaporate.
Government needs to sort out the mining rights application system, the cadastral, if we are to turn this sunrise industry around.
Much greater coordination and financing is needed to revive our industrial sectors, including through the master plans. Specific attention must be paid to our base industries, in particular motor manufacturing, which require strategic support to navigate global shifts that if not managed well, can see industries close.
Consumers, business and the state must be mobilised to buy locally produced goods from clothing to food, furniture and vehicles.
Government has done well over to open up new trading opportunities, particularly in Asia. These should be intensified alongside a renewed focus on the region and the continent through the African Continental Free Trade Area.
We will not attract the investment we desperately need until we deal with our unacceptably high levels of crime and corruption. There is no sugar coating this. Our law enforcement and judiciary need to be overhauled and properly resourced.
Our education and skills training regimes require a shakeup to ensure that we provide our youth and workers with the skills and education required not only for the jobs of today’s economy, but also tomorrow’s.
Public employment programmes and artisanships and internships in the private sector need to be ramped up to help young people earn a salary and acquire the skills and experience necessary to find permanent employment.
SRD and social grant recipients should be included in skills and employment programmes where possible to reverse the ratio of people working to those needing social grants.
South Africa is at a crossroads.
We can choose to remain stuck in low growth and high unemployment and accept that things will not get better. Or we can show bold and progressive leadership and fix the state, stimulate growth and extend relief for the poor and the unemployed. Now is the time for decisive action.
Zingiswa Losi is President of Cosatu.
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