The private sector is actually the culprit who is to blame for South Africa’s current economic problems, Mzwanele (Jimmy) Manyi, president of the Progressive Professionals Forum (PPF), claimed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment must find a way to tax funds in the private sector. That is the duty of government. The duty of the private sector is to create jobs, but it does not want to come to the party,\u201d Manyi said during a panel discussion at the convention of the SA Property Owners Association (Sapoa).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen one sees how war torn countries in the rest of Africa are, you realise the value of peace. The ANC has ensured peace in South Africa, but now it is taken for granted and no credit is given to the ANC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manyi took on another panel member, political analyst Justice Malala, for the \u201cfundamental error\u201d of insinuating that people are only following the ANC because they are uneducated or uninformed. In Manyi\u2019s view, there is also nothing wrong with cadre deployment if it is \u201cdone properly\u201d in order to create alignment with policies and skill.<\/p>\n
Malala, in turn, emphasised that the ANC still has the power to change the country around if it puts its mind to doing so.<\/p>\n
In turn, Manyi said one cannot reverse 300 years of apartheid in 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sit with unemployed graduates in townships \u2013 most are black and racism in SA has reared its ugly head. People say it is government that is corrupt, but it is actually the private sector that is still corrupt,\u201d claimed Manyi. He cited as an example the fines issued to companies in the construction sector.<\/p>\n
For Victor Kgomoeswana, Africa business specialist and BB-BEE consultant, politics is about money.<\/p>\n
Read: \u2018Jobs for friends\u2019 is democracy: Zuma<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Regarding the current violence in Tshwane, he said the key to ending it lies in making the SA economy inclusive, yet he doubts if any politician is going to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is about addressing poverty, ignorance and disease. It is about good education and healthcare. It would be hard to motivate young people to burn cars and buses if they have jobs,” said Kgomoeswana. He emphasised though that he is in favour of what he calls making BEE workable.<\/p>\n Another member of the panel, political analyst Daniel Silke, said that if there is a decline in SA, it has been a long time coming. To him inequality is a critical issue, but he cautioned that too often inequality is confused with race and racism in SA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be about broadening the pie in SA. Nearly 90% of Parliament supports the National Development Plan, yet we have not been able to implement it,\u201d said Silke.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be about finding common ground between the ANC and the DA. That would be a lot more profitable for SA in alleviating inequality. Coalitions can be for nation building and the betterment of SA as well.\u201d<\/p>\n In Silke\u2019s view, the ANC has to take \u201csome ownership\u201d for what has been done in SA over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIf half our school learners drop out before finishing school, it cannot just be apartheid\u2019s fault. There has been a reasonable period after 1994 to implement credible policies, but the\u00a0 ANC policies have failed the poor,\u201d said Silke.<\/p>\n \u201cI still think, however, there is a lot more that unites us as South Africans than divides us. The issue is to keep a very broad mind and move away from very narrow ideologies that hold us back.\u201d<\/p>\n The last member of panel, satirist and social activist Pieter-Dirk Uys, would like to see all South Africans leading by example on every level.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n R500 billion wage bill for \u2018cadre deployment\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Tshwane riots show the result of Zuma\u2019s crony politics in SA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on politics in SA<\/h3>\n