SOUTH Africa’s government, labour unions and business representatives agreed to form working groups that will aim to find agreement on a plan for reviving the nation’s ailing economy.
Representatives of the Nation Economic Development and Labour Council on Thursday night made the decision to split into smaller groups to work on elements of a so-called social compact — an accord that President Cyril Ramaphosa said in February he expected to be agreed within 100 days. He has missed that deadline.
“There is no definite time frame, but we want the process to be completed before the State of the Nation Address that will be delivered by the president” in February, said Matthew Parks, the parliamentary coordinator at the Congress of South African Trade Unions, in an interview.
Ramaphosa said last February that by bringing together the government, business, labour and civil society, he expects to chart a path forward for an economy that’s been languishing for over a decade. Unemployment is at a near-record high, sovereign debt is climbing and a litany of corruption scandals have eroded faith in the government.
BLOOMBERG
