It’s natural to regard politicians with scepticism, more so after our painful experience of state capture. But it is equally important to provide a balanced perspective.
We have been fortunate as Cosatu to work with the minister for trade, industry & competition, Ebrahim Patel, from his days in the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) to his time in the cabinet.
While no politician is perfect, Patel has been an ally of workers, a champion of South African business and a fierce opponent of corruption.
He may make some uncomfortable when he encourages business to do more to address racial inequalities. He may offend importers when he asks them to support local industries, and he definitely irritates those wanting to loot the state. We expect nothing less.
An examination of Patel’s record shows a minister bringing together government, business and labour around a common agenda to grow the economy, slash unemployment, rebuild the state and tackle corruption.
Not long ago Langeberg & Ashton Canning, a food company, was in serious trouble. Patel intervened with TigerBrands to ensure the company was placed on a path to recovery, saving thousands of agricultural jobs in the Winelands.
This is a minister who knows and lives his portfolio, has brought stakeholders together, is showing real results, and is respected for his incorruptibility. One would think we would applaud such leaders
He has worked with industry to secure investment and create thousands of jobs, with Stellantis committing to open a car manufacturing plant — the first new car assembly plant in South Africa in nearly a decade. He also saved thousands of jobs in the poultry industry in Hammarsdale. For the affected workers and businesses these were uplifting stories.
When the government deals with corruption, it needs to step on some toes. Patel did this with the National Lottery Commission which had become notorious for brazen corruption, and he was pilloried for meddling. Today we see the fruits of his intervention with senior parties implicated in corruption dismissed, assets attached, and those implicated hauled before law enforcement.
No one had a map on how to manage Covid-19 and we had days to prepare for it. Patel worked with business and labour to put in place workstreams to rapidly produce masks, gloves, visors, screens, medical textiles, sanitisers and ventilators. Not only did this ensure we had sufficient stock to manage the pandemic, but jobs and factories were saved.
Critics are silent when consumers are pickpocketed and SMMEs are suffocated by monopolies. This is why the Competition Commission intervened when prices were manipulated for Covid tests, school uniforms, and data. The result of these interventions? Lower prices for consumers: data fell from R149 per gig in 2019 to R85 in 2023 on one cellular network.
The motor industry has seen impressive increases in the export of locally produced vehicles from about 300,000 to well over 450,000 in 2022, now nearing 500,000. This means jobs for Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Progressive laws have been processed: from the Competition Amendment Act (dealing with monopolies) to the Companies Amendment Bill, nudging large corporations to reduce the apartheid wage gap still prevalent in the banking, insurance, retail and mining sectors.
The recent geopolitical headwinds facing South Africa have been strong. Relations with the US, one of our largest trading partners, went through turbulence with several congressmen calling for South Africa’s removal from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), through which billions of rands of our mineral, agricultural, vehicle and manufacturing exports enjoy preferential access. Such a move would threaten thousands of jobs.
Patel, tasked by President Cyril Ramaphosa, led a high-level cabinet delegation, including labour and business representatives, to Washington to stabilise relations. A few months later South Africa hosted the successful Agoa Forum. The conversation has moved from expelling South Africa from Agoa to how trade co-operation can be enhanced to support Africa and South Africa’s economic development.
Recently, a ground-breaking deal to tap into Saudi Arabia’s lucrative red meat import industry was forged, opening up a market of more than $2bn for South African farmers.
Patel grew up in the union movement, was raised by a clothing factory worker, a single mother in Grassy Park, to become Sactwu’s general secretary. We are proud of this son of Cosatu — not because we expect him to chant slogans but because of his relentless efforts to remove impediments to our economy. He has often challenged labour to identify ways to boost productivity.
What is most disappointing about attacks on Patel is that this is a minister who knows and lives his portfolio, has brought stakeholders together, is showing real results, and is respected for his incorruptibility. One would think we would applaud such leaders.
• Losi is president of Cosatu
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