Johnathan Paoli
ActionSA Chief Director of Governance, Dr Nasiphi Moya, announced the charting of a new path towards economic justice, one that focuses on the root causes that have widened the inequality gap, particularly in the last 30 years and proposed an Opportunity Fund as a means of engaging the problem.
Moya was delivering a keynote address on the topic of Economic Justice at ActionSA’s inaugural Policy Conference on Thursday at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg and said his party is striving towards a South Africa that is no longer characterized by division and inequality but is rather set on achieving economic justice for all.
The Opportunity Fund, to be used to create access to entrepreneurial funding and tertiary education for Black South Africans was discussed as one of the innovative and viable solutions that Actions has developed to address inequality in South Africa, said Moya.
The Opportunity Fund is a proposed initiative to empower black South Africans who have been historically disadvantaged by the apartheid regime and the current ruling party, and will be funded partially by corporate profits that are currently being spent on BEE compliance, and be applicable for 30 years.
Moya ActionSA will also launch financial literacy, education and awareness programmes to ensure that socio-economic development is driven by socially transformative programmes through the Opportunity Fund.
In addition, she said that the Opportunity Fund will be managed by an independent board of trustees that will be accountable to Parliament and the public and will consist of representatives from various sectors of society, such as civil society, academia, business, labour, and government.
The board will also appoint an independent auditor to ensure transparency and accountability of the fund’s operations.
Moya said the fund will be administered by a professional fund manager that will be selected through a competitive bidding process and will be responsible for assessing applications, disbursing funds, and monitoring and evaluating the impact of the fund’s interventions as well as reporting regularly to the board of trustees and the public on the fund’s performance and outcomes.
In addition, Moya touched on other aspects such as healthcare, education, energy security, corruption, law and order, climate, and the environment that also assist in promoting the economic and social justice that is required to build a just and inclusive society.
She also emphasized the importance of gender equality and gender justice, and the need for educational programs to address gender-based violence.
Regarding land reform, Moya said that it is important to consider how to give people access to land and property that is aligned with shifts in people’s preferences for where to live while ensuring access to clean, safe, and inclusive living spaces.
“It is important that we remove the structural barriers that have affected all marginalised groups, ranging from people living with disabilities to members of the LGBTQIA+ community and black people, who have all faced injustices,” Moya said.
The Opportunity Fund comes in the wake of recent debates surround economic justice as well as the condemnation by certain opposition parties such as the DA of the ANC’s recent draft Employment Equity Amendment Act regulations, which aims to promote demographic representation in the workforce, especially in management positions, by setting race and gender targets for different economic sectors, skill levels, and provinces.
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