Tuesday, for those watching Pretoria’s attempts at statecraft in a country and economy under much stress, was a day of stark contrasts.
As part of the private sector-government collaboration launched in June, President Cyril Ramaphosa, supported by selected cabinet ministers, held the third in a series of meetings with CEOs under the Business for South Africa (B4SA) umbrella. Photos shared by the Presidency give an idea of the combined clout gathered around the oval table.
Earlier, the National Planning Commission’s (NPC) long-awaited ten-year review of the National Development Plan was released. There was no accompanying briefing; a Ramaphosa aide said the NPC secretariat had breached protocol, so the expected briefing was postponed.
The upshot was that the report was released with no government or NPC spin on its far-reaching, often despairing analysis of our state and society. Ironically, the review pointed to the need for consistency in government policy communication and engagement with stakeholders.
The jury is obviously still out on how the B4SA-government process will pan out, especially once the 2024 election results are in.
Ramaphosa said after the B4SA meeting that the government and business had formed an “effective working relationship” to tackle the immediate challenges facing the economy.
“While we have identified key milestones and set out the processes to achieve these, the real test of our success will be in the results felt by ordinary citizens. We are confident that, by working together and marshalling the significant resources and expertise that exist in our country, we will end load-shedding, fix our logistics system, and tackle crime and corruption.”
We are confident that, by working together and marshalling the significant resources and expertise that exist in our country, we will end load-shedding, fix our logistics system, and tackle crime and corruption
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
Discovery’s Adrian Gore, co-convener of the business delegation, said: “Putting in place a viable critical path per focal area with clear short-term deliverables against which we collectively measure our progress is crucial for building confidence in our ability to deliver.”
The business members of the partnership are skilled tacticians in communicating their expectations, especially to those of their peers who believe they have entered a Faustian bargain with the ANC. The week ahead will see upbeat B4SA players take to Zoom meetings to unpack Tuesday’s discussions and provide additional nuance about the state of the partnership.
The NPC came like a breath of fresh air in 2010, promising to create a wave of hope and prosperity that would ripple through society. It marked 2030 as the year by which the unemployment rate would be halved. This week’s NPC report suggests the present commissioners are a dejected group.
“Our 10-year review reveals that most of our economic targets have not only been missed but are moving in the wrong direction,” their statement reads. “Objectives and targets that have to do with inequality, poverty levels, employment and unemployment rates, energy security, a low-carbon economy, GDP, economic growth, and investment levels have all been missed.”
The story of South Africa’s collapse is not without faces, or living human beings whose suffering will continue for decades. When the development plan was launched, it was accompanied by great storytelling that drove home what the diagnostic outcomes and potential opportunity cost were.
But 13 years on South Africa faces steep decline, with most indicators pointing south.
Former president Thabo Mbeki spoke about the decline this week, relying on a presentation by John Endres, CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations, asking “Where will it end?”
Mbeki says the state is already being overtaken by the private sector in the provision of critical services.
“Those who can afford it rely on private health care and schooling, of a quality far higher than that provided by the state. In the absence of reliable electricity from the state-owned utility, those who can afford it install solar power on their rooftops,” he said.
This is the private sector doing what it ought to do: exploit opportunities arising from state failure. Nothing wrong with that. However, there are consequences when various incarnations of a shadow state take root and private interests permeate the cracks of a broken bureaucracy.
It is clear the vision a decade ago of prosperity by 2030 was a dream. The reality of a broken nation faces us, and that is the 2030 we are destined for, due to a governing group that does not have the capacity or interest to lead us to a better future.
•Mkokeli is lead partner at public affairs consultancy Mkokeli Advisory
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