South Africa has been divided for too long by populist politicians and by factional politics, writes Mmusi Maimane who posits that it's time for a new politics - a politics that is built on radical centrism and on real solutions for everyday South Africans.
As we welcome the new year and set our hopes high for 2023, we must acknowledge how profoundly difficult a year 2022 was for South Africans. High cost of living, high levels of inflation, high interest rates, high levels of load shedding, high levels of crime and extremely low levels of service delivery – all compounded by the precarious global environment recovering from the economic wounds of Covid-19 and the consequences of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
If we are to buck this trend in 2023 and beyond, a robust new course of action is required.
This begins in a sober and frank assessment and appreciation of the "scoreboard" as it stands, and the underlying issues contributing to this poor performance. South Africa is significantly behind our global competitors in terms of infrastructure, economic growth and service delivery. The difference lies in the quality of leadership and the commitment to good management of state resources and institutions.
Bleak economic outlook
The core underpinning of a recovering South Africa is a resurgent economy. Today our economic outlook is bleak. The Ministry of Finance projects real GDP growth for 2023 at 1.6%, with others predicting as low as 1.0%. Either way, this points to a low growth environment whereby the very little money within our government coffers is funnelled away from government departments and into the hands of the tenderpreneur class.
A new, high growth trajectory for South Africa requires addressing at least the following matters.
Firstly, we must keep the lights on. Load reduction caused by the Eskom crisis is harming our communities and leaving citizens unsafe and vulnerable. It discourages foreign direct investment and thus thwarts millions of job opportunities. The international business community can see that even well-established global companies like KFC have been affected negatively by this crisis. They are not going to set up shop while we cannot keep the lights on.
Let us acknowledge the scale of abnormality here. It is not normal for families to have assortments of power banks, inverters and camping lights for the home. It is not normal for families to have to wake up and check an app to see whether they will have power that day. The danger that exists from a protracted state of abnormality is that we eventually become used to the status quo.
If we become comfortable with load shedding, new industries will mushroom with an incentive to continue the dysfunction that drives their profit and business model. Such businesses have not struggled to find eager politicians willing to do their bidding, this was the lesson from the state capture commission.
What to do? Stabilise our grid by hiring the right CEO early this year and allowing that individual to execute their mandate with a full contingent of engineers, artisans and technicians. The politically connected coal mafia must be ousted, and a diverse range of power generations needs to be onboarded – wind, solar, nuclear included. IPPs are a decade overdue. We cannot afford a game of musical chairs at the national energy provider, not this year, the stakes are too high.
Crippling unemployment
Secondly, the systemic inhibitors of job creation are holding South Africa to ransom. The long-term unemployment rate - measuring the number of people who have been unemployed for a year or longer - has increased each year over the last decade. The number of long-term unemployed people in South Africa was 4.9 million people in 2012 and rose to 7.7 million in 2022. That is a growth rate of 57% in long-term unemployment. Unsustainable and abnormal.
StatsSA tells us there are 10.2 million South Africans between the ages of 15 to 24 who are unemployed. Approximately 3.5 million of these young people are not in employment education or training. The problem is systemic insofar as many young unemployed people would have dropped out of high school because they were failed by the basic education department. Our unemployment problems, especially our youth unemployment problems, are a direct result of unresolved long-term teaching issues in our education system.
Our manufacturing sector remains weak, contributing to 13% of our GDP and only employing 9.7% of the population. The reason our manufacturing sector does not grow is because of the shortage of artisans and engineering skills to run a modern manufacturing state. Our workforce skills ranking by the World Economic Forum was 101 out of 141 countries. Our vocational skills ranking was 119 out of 141. We cannot eradicate poverty without creating jobs, and we cannot create high skilled jobs without fixing our education system. The longer we wait, the bigger the unemployment problem will become.
Ballooning debt burden
South Africa's long-term debt burden problem has grown from R627 billion in 2008 to R4.7 trillion. This debt incurs debt-service costs that will cost South Africa an average of R355.2 billion this year. In addition to a massive debt burden, we have a high social support bill. Over 18 million South Africans received social grants from the government last year and this number has been growing because of the systemic failures of the state. This is a fiscal ticking timebomb.
It is, therefore, imperative that our government stops wasting money and makes sure that municipalities use our money wisely. We cannot continue having ghost workers in our government, we cannot continue having deputy ministers who serve no real purpose in their respective ministries. We cannot continue to have an oversized and inefficient Cabinet.
Thirdly, we must resolve our politics. In the immediate term, a Cabinet overhaul and reduction is urgently required. At face value, a new Minister of Police, Basic Education, Higher Education and Transport. The quality of execution in an administration is a direct result of the quality of the leadership team. While President Cyril Ramaphosa may have had to make certain compromises in order to win last month's Nasrec conference, that battle has been won and he has to now put the needs of everyday South Africans over and above the factional political interests of the ANC.
In addition, more latitude must be given to the president to appoint the best candidates to Cabinet positions. Section 91(3)(c) of the Constitution needs amending to allow the president to appoint anyone they deem fit to serve as Cabinet ministers. The section states the president may select no more than two ministers from outside Parliament. Changing this allows the president to appoint ministers who are actually experienced in their relevant fields. We should not be having politicians as the ministers of finance, health or education. It should be businesspersons, doctors and educators.
Finally, reforming our politics means making public office corruption proof. Solutions include establishing specialised Corruption Courts; continuous lifestyle audits of all politicians and senior government officials; minimum sentence legislation for individuals convicted of corruption; and increasing transparency in the tender process. Without deterring corruption and making it near impossible to pursue, very little else is achievable in government.
Democracy remains the solution
While I was travelling abroad this festive season, I had conversations with leaders, global citizens and many people who are passionate about building One South Africa. I was reminded once again that politics and politicians matter because they impact the lives of ordinary citizens, and they can make all the difference in the future prospects of a nation.
I was more convinced than ever during my travels that democracy remains the solution and that our voters can save our country. It is, therefore, crucial that we encourage voters to vote, and we create an environment where all demographics can be engaged in the politics of South Africa and the debate about the future of this nation.
As the leader of Build One South Africa, I will be travelling across South Africa this year, talking to South Africans about the issues that matter, finding South Africans who share values of unity and ubuntu. Our nation has been divided for too long by populist politicians and by factional politics.
It's time for a new politics, a politics that is built on radical centrism and on real solutions for everyday South Africans. I'm very passionate about that political journey and those conversations. Our beautiful nation still has a beautiful future, and I invite all South Africans who want to build that future to join me on that journey.
- Mmusi Maimane is Leader of Build One South Africa.
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