Johnathan Paoli
Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has praised the accomplishments of the ANC in ensuring job creation but admitted that more needed to be done, a promise which would be supported by the party’s recent manifesto.
Minister Kubayi, among other NEC members, was briefing the media on Thursday on the First and Second priorities of the ANC’s Manifesto, namely to put SA to work and to grow an inclusive economy.
She said the party would continue to unapologetically pursue an inclusive and transformed economy by promoting and monitoring substantive participation of black people, women, youth and persons with disabilities in the mainstream economy, through legislative and policy interventions.
Kubayi said the ANC’s 2024 – 2029 Manifesto, outlined a clear and realistic plan which arises from a period characterised by major economic transformation progress that has resulted in valuable lessons learnt, which bodes well for the party for pivoting the economy towards accelerated growth.
“Since 1994, the South African economy has been radically transformed. The country is a much better place today than it was 30 years ago. South Africa’s working class has, over the years under democracy, secured a fairer labour dispensation and rising wages.
“The black middle class, and cadre of black professionals have grown exponentially in wealth and influence. Access to land and tenure security for black South Africans in rural areas has increased,” the Minister said.
Kubayi said that currently, the number of people employed has reached its highest ever level with over 16.7 million in jobs and that a skills revolution, which led to the creation of a new cohort of professionals in various sectors of the economy, has provided pathways from basic education to further and higher education to children of all races.
The Minister said the party laid a firm economic foundation which has helped the country’s economy to withstand the economic crisis of 2008 and later the COVID-19 pandemic, with both these devastating events leaving the SA economy battered but remaining very resilient.
She said that the adoption of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), which included accelerating reforms and revitalization of various sectors, placed the economy on a sustainable recovery from the pandemic, until it surpassed pre-pandemic levels in terms of size and number of jobs.
However, Kubayi said that much more needed to be done to create more jobs and lift the living standards of those who have been left behind, and that the party, through its Manifesto, was recommitting itself to putting the people’s needs and dreams at the centre of its programme, as it is the only party in South Africa that is capable of building on the successes of the first 30 years of democracy – and securing a better life for all.
She said that in seeking to accelerate industrialisation and enhance infrastructure, boosting investment and job creation to significantly higher levels, structural reforms will be complemented by various mechanisms which mobilise additional private sector investments towards building an inclusive economy and that these mechanisms will be well-designed to ensure that they result in a win-win situation.
The party is expected to unpack priority Three of the Manifesto which outlines the ANC’s aims to tackle the high cost of living; strengthen comprehensive social security and reduce the cost of living, with the briefing expected to be led by the Chairperson of the Social Transformation Committee Zweli Mkhize.
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