Question NW742 to the President of the Republic
12 May 2016 - NW742
Lekota, Mr M to ask the President of the Republic
(1) Whether, in view of the dire economic situation that the country finds itself and the extreme difficulty millions of persons are experiencing in finding jobs at a time when the mining sector, manufacturing and agriculture are all declining, the Government has succeeded in (a) achieving policy coherence, alignment and co-ordination across government, (b) creating a vibrant partnership between the Government and the business sector as a whole and (c) eliminating regulatory obstacles impeding investment in South Africa; if not, why not in each case; if so, what has the Government succeeded in doing in the first quarter of this year that has removed investor frustration and bolstered business confidence; (2) whether he will indicate in which way South Africa has succeeded in becoming a capable state and being accepted as such?
Reply:
The National Development Plan (NDP) is a coherent policy framework that is used to achieve alignment and co-ordination across government.
A number of implementation strategies are in place. They include addressing the growth path challenges to the creation of more jobs, and implementing industrial and agriculture policies. Our Medium-term Strategic Framework puts timeframes to specific actions in these strategies.
In order to ensure that our planning and our policies do in fact achieve what we want them to, we have, amongst other initiatives, strengthened the role of Parliament in the budget through the Money Bills Amendment Act, and established a Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.
To improve the ease of doing business, we are now conducting socio-economic impact assessments on new legislation to enable the true costs and benefits to be known.
A large share of public sector spending, is aimed at establishing and maintaining conditions in which the private sector can invest. Public investment levels are robust and contributed to creation of jobs and opportunities for industrialisation.
As regards regulation, we have recently amended our visa regime to better balance the various policy objectives and to help the growth of tourism. Government departments are committed to helping municipalities cut red tape and provide a range of support measures for small businesses.
Many of our largest municipalities are participating in a programme intended to reduce red tape for business in areas such as getting construction permits, obtaining electricity connections and registering property.
To develop and strengthen a vibrant partnership with key economic stakeholders, we have engaged foreign and domestic investors, trade unions and community leaders. NEDLAC continues to remain an important body which facilitates consensus and cooperation between Government, Labour, Business and the Community in dealing with South Africa’s socio-economic challenges.
In the run up to this year’s State of the Nation, I met with business leaders to hear their concerns and exchange views on what each social partner can do to lift the rate of inclusive growth and job creation. We met again on the 9th of May and announced to the nation a package of interventions to unlock growth.
These measures that I have outlined are part of our efforts to build a capable, developmental state. While are stepping up efforts to improve the performance of the state, a number new investment commitments by the private sector, including foreign investors, point to examples of successful implementation of polices by the state. These include the automobile production sector as well as renewable energy plants.