¡@
Government, under the leadership of Minister Ebrahim
Patel, on 23 November 2010 released the Framework
of the New Economic Growth Path aimed
at enhancing growth, employment creation and equity. The
policy¡¦s principal target is to create five million jobs
over the next 10 years. This framework reflects
government¡¦s commitment to prioritising employment
creation in all economic policies. It identifies
strategies that will enable South Africa to grow in a
more equitable and inclusive manner while attaining
South Africa¡¦s developmental agenda.
¡@
Central to the New Growth Path is a massive investment
in infrastructure as a critical driver of jobs across
the economy.
-
The framework identifies investments in five key
areas namely: energy, transport, communication,
water and housing. Sustaining high levels of public
investment in these areas will create jobs in
construction, operation and maintenance of
infrastructure.
-
The new growth path sees the infrastructure
programme as a trigger to build a local supplier
industry for the manufacture of the components for
the build-programme.
-
Specific measures, particularly changes to
procurement policy and regulations, are identified
to ensure that this is achieved. Risks include the
still fragile global recovery; competition and
collaboration with the new fast-growing economies;
and competing interests domestically.
¡@
The New Growth Path identifies five other priority areas
as part of the programme to create jobs, through a
series of partnerships between the State and the private
sector.
-
Green economy:
expansions in construction and the production of
technologies for solar, wind and biofuels is
supported by the draft Energy
on Integrated Resource Plan.
Clean manufacturing and environmental services are
projected to create 300 000 jobs over the next
decade.
-
Agriculture: jobs will be created by addressing the
high input costs and upscaling processing and export
marketing. Support for small holders will include
access to key inputs. Government will explore ways
to improve working and living conditions for the
country¡¦s 660 000 farm workers. The growth path also
commits the Government to unblocking stalled land
transfers, which constrain new investment.
-
Mining: calls for increased mineral extraction and
improving infrastructure and skills development. It
focuses support for beneficiation on the final
manufacture of consumer and capital goods, which can
create large-scale employment. It foresees the
establishment of a state mining company
concentrating on beneficiation and enhanced resource
exploitation in competition with a strong private
mining sector.
-
Manufacturing: calls for re-industrialisation in the
South African economy based on improving performance
through innovation, skills development and reduced
input costs in the economy. The document targets a
doubling of South Africa¡¦s research and development
investment to 2% of gross domestic product by 2018.
-
Tourism and other high-level services: hold
employment potential and the framework calls for
South Africa to position itself as the higher
education hub of the African continent.
¡@
Smarter coordination between government and stronger
partnerships with the private sector and organised
labour will galvanise our resources in achieving the
aims of the New Growth Path.
-
Government calls on every South African to
contribute to building our nation over the coming 20
years to ensure a collective effort, creativity and
solidarity.
-
Good leadership and strong governance are critical
in ensuring that South Africa takes charge of the
new opportunities. Government commits to cut
wasteful spending, tackle corruption and align the
allocation of public money with developmental
priorities.
-
Government recognises that job targets can only be
achieved if the State performs better and if the
private sector grows in labour-absorbing parts of
the economy.
-
The New Growth Path identifies measures to
strengthen the capacity of the state and enhance the
performance of the private sector to achieve
employment and growth goals.
¡@
The New Growth Path proposes major improvements in
government, with a call for slashing unnecessary red
tape, improving competition in the economy and stepping
up skills development.
-
The role of government departments and agencies in
meeting set targets for scarce and key skills is
critical. This emphasis on skills applies across the
economy and will be a centrepiece of partnership
with business and labour.
-
Key targets include the aim to produce 30 000
engineers by 2014, with a focus on Mathematics and
Science as well as changes to university funding
formulae to achieve this, and 50 000 artisans by
2015, with annual targets for Eskom and
Transnet and for individual Sector
Education and Training Authority institutions
to achieve this.
-
The document calls for greater focus on workplace
training, targeting on-the-job training and
refresher programmes for 10% of the workforce every
year.
-
It also calls for measures to make it easier to
import scarce skills by streamlining the work permit
and visa system. This will be accompanied by a
skills transfer programme to ensure that local
skills development is enhanced.
¡@
The framework identifies a ¡§development package¡¨ ¡V a
coordinated set of actions across a broad front, this
consists of macroeconomic strategies, microeconomic
measures and stakeholder commitments to drive employment
and economic growth.
-
The document recognises the challenges of an
uncompetitive currency and sets out clear steps for
government to address the impact of the Rand on the
economy.
-
In expanding on government¡¦s tools to address
inflation, a stronger role will be considered for
competition policy and strategic investigations into
conduct leading to high and volatile prices for
intermediate inputs for producers and basic consumer
goods, including important commodities such as
maize, steel and fertilisers.
-
Government calls for greater focus by South African
business on opportunities in Africa¡¦s fast-growing
economies. This is accompanied by commitments to
improve cross-border infrastructure and measures to
address unnecessary regulatory obstacles to the
movement of people and goods, as part of building a
common market on the continent.
¡@
|