President Cyril Ramaphosa's ambition of reaching a social compact to grow the economy and create jobs has hit a snag. Participants are yet to reach a consensus, well after the 100-day deadline the president announced in February.
One of the social partners, the Black Business Council, has accused Ramaphosa and his government of not being “genuine” in their talks on fixing the country's economy.
Business leaders said the government had not set up a meeting since Ramaphosa made the announcement in February.
“We met the president on January 28 because the state of the nation address was coming up. At that meeting we discussed setting up a four-a-side and he appointed four ministers — Thulas Nxesi, Mmamoloko Kubayi, Enoch Godongwana and Mondli Gungubele,” said BBC president Elias Monage.
The four-a-side set-up was meant to shape a framework for engagements between business and the government, but Monage said a follow-up meeting between the ministers and business never took place.
“When the government went to Sona and mentioned the social compact it was not what we discussed and agreed on with him and the team. That is why I am saying the government is not genuine, the president himself is not genuine.
“Even the 100 days, that was us, not him. We came up with that commitment. We said when we have the economic indaba, we sign off, it goes to Sona and then finally to the budget. We then count the 100 days from the Sona. And now, which 100 days are we talking about? The 100 days is gone. If the government is not serious about this, they are going to see flames.”
Ramaphosa conceded last week that the process had stalled and that the 100 days might have been an unrealistic target.
“Of course there are challenges because all social partners have issues to be addressed and those are issues that have to be arrived at,” he said.
Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said there had been a few bilateral meetings between organised labour, government and business.
“All parties have agreed that it’s just not physically possible to reach an agreement on a social compact within the 100 days set by the president at Sona.
“We felt that what matters is the substance of the social compact, not a deadline. We must rather allocate sufficient time and engage in substantial matters with real concrete actions included.”
Losi said the government had proposed that “we look at developing and finalising an overarching framework over the next two weeks, which the president could then announce. We would then set aside the next six months for substantive engagements that will constitute the social compact.”
Business For SA (B4SA) chair Martin Kingston said business wants “to focus on key interventions that can improve confidence levels, demonstrate real traction and place us on a path that’s sustainable for inclusive growth”.
For this to happen, Kingston said, bilateral processes needed to take place between the government and business.
“There are a number of areas that can be better accelerated and we as business are prepared to put shoulder to the wheel, whether it be in the energy sector where we address constraints of energy availability. In water, we can get some projects up and running, in transport we can address some of the constraints [and] frustrations.”
He believes that the government is committed to forging a social compact with business but his concern is that other social partners could stall the process “because not all of us attach the same priorities. If you have limited time and capacity then we need to prioritise properly. We cannot prioritise everything.”
Kingston said that stakeholders had not met to discuss the programme. “There has not been a formal engagement between the president and business on this matter since Sona. There should be a social engagement because we need to make sure — especially the government and decisionmakers — that we are aligned about the process and speak in one voice.”
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