The SA I want post-May elections: transformation, local manufacturing in focus
By Dr Sigqibo Biggz
The excitement around the impending elections is being compared by those who voted in 1994 to the circumstances of the country at that time. I can't say if I agree or disagree because I was only seven years old at the time.
Despite the fact that the era is distinct, most of the nation was set to vote for the first time in the new regime in 1994, having endured a dark past of persecution. A better living for everyone served as the cornerstone of the high expectations for what democracy would offer.
In 1994, the ANC, which had been banned in South Africa since the 1950s for opposing apartheid, took over as the country’s governing party.
The South African constitutional regime is anchored on human rights, social justice and democracy. Moreover, the democratisation of South Africa paved the way for the nation's integration into the global economy.
Over the 30 years of democracy, the country has had a fair share of challenges notable inequality, unemployment and poverty. The process of transforming South Africa into a non-racial, non-sexist, egalitarian, united and democratic nation involved economic transformation, which the ANC administration has recognised as essential.
The World Bank (2024) postulates that the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated structural obstacles and sluggish growth that have impeded efforts to reduce poverty. Furthermore, rising unemployment, which rose to 32.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023, above the high pre-pandemic rates, severely impedes the attainment of improvement in household welfare. Electricity supply shortages have also constrained South Africa’s growth for several years.
With a consumer expenditure Gini coefficient of 0.67 in 2018, South Africa is a dual economy, with one of the highest and longest-lasting rates of inequality in the world.
A history of marginalisation and the character of economic growth, which is not pro-poor and does not create enough jobs are the main causes of high inequality. Since there is minimal intergenerational mobility and even more economic inequality, disparities are mostly passed down from one generation to the next.
The economic structure of our nation needs to be changed with intentionality. There needs to be legislation passed that enforce the transformation in order to accomplish and maintain it. In addition to importing only the commodities that we are unable to make domestically, the nation must take a protectionist stance toward its local industries. Locally created goods must also be given additional value.
In addition, procurement needs to be more locally focused. For example, schools, prisons and hospitals need to buy food from nearby farmers in order to boost the local economy and generate jobs. Only specialised skills should be imported, for example, the hospitality industry must be compelled to hire locals.
It is also shocking that just 14% of JSE-listed companies have black CEOs and only 7% are women, highlighting the glacial rate of change in the private sector. Only 36% of black executives chair the organisations’ boards, and only 7% of the executives are women ( Shared Value Initiative, 2021).
Drastic changes are required. This cannot be allowed to go further. Tough actions must be taken against those opposed to transformation. We do not need to be apologetic about our desires of economic liberation that are long overdue.
My aspirations include a society devoid of crime, an economy that works for the majority, world-class road infrastructure, efficient rail and ports, a modernised education system, redesigned vocational training, a nation free from corruption, world-class health care, and a professionalised public service.
Pula!
Dr Sigqibo Biggz Mfuywa is a Black Management Forum Gauteng chairperson. He writes in his personal capacity
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