Karima Brown and Amy Musgrave
20 October 2008
Johannesburg — A FUNDAMENTAL shift to the left in economic policy emerged from the ruling African National Congress's (ANC's) weekend economic policy summit with its communist and trade union allies, with clear signs that the South African Communist Party (SACP) in particular is scoring huge successes in redirecting national policy.
Changes to policy decided at the summit include the creation of a two-tier cabinet, a planning commission, and an industrial policy that focuses more sharply on job creation.
The changes will surprise, if not shock, analysts who had been taken in by repeated assurances by the new ANC leadership that no policy changes were envisaged.
Yet SACP deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin signalled the overhaul yesterday: "Very important and fundamental paradigm shifts are occurring."
This is the first time the ANC has committed itself to these changes since its elective conference in Polokwane, which saw policy shift to the left.
The theme of continuity and change, as well as "continuity in change", permeated discussions at the summit.
Cronin said "not everything is broken", but there would be changes aimed at "fixing" policy and government departments that had not yielded results.
The planning commission, which Cronin said would come into effect soon after next year's poll, would be headed by the Presidency and would have the power to align the work of departments and organs of state to support the state's developmental agenda.
"The planning commission would ... promote the alignment of government budgets with developmental planning, set broad targets through medium-term and long-term plans, conduct strategic risk assessment, and act as secretariat to the council of state," a statement released after the summit read.
The council of state would preside over a two-tier cabinet system, which was supported in principle by delegates at the summit. It would comprise senior ministers heading areas of government work.
One of the implications of the restructured cabinet would be a change in the role of the treasury. "Budgetary allocations will (no longer) be the monopoly of treasury. Instead it will be based on a development plan. Clusters (of state departments) have not been working. We need better co-ordination and hierarchy because ministers often clash," Cronin said.
It was agreed that more work was needed on the proposals that could see the cabinet revamped, and government departments and state institutions restructured.
"It was further agreed that a conference is required to consider how to deal with the role of provinces and local government," the statement read.
There have been calls for provincial governments to be scrapped, with the focus on strengthening local government. The SACP has suggested provincial governments become administrative centres to implement policy.
The ANC , the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions were happy with the outcome of the summit, saying not only was the alliance starting to work as a coherent unit, but the relationship between it and the government had also improved.
"It doesn't mean there is coherence on every issue. But there is a great convergence between the alliance and the government on policy issues," ANC secretarygeneral Gwede Mantashe said.
The restructuring of the cabinet was first mooted by the SACP at its policy conference last month. The acceptance in principle by the alliance underlines the left's growing influence.
The summit was preceded by an alliance officials' meeting, which ironed out the role of the alliance in policy development.
The new relationship confirms the push for the alliance to become the strategic centre, in contrast to its role in policy formulation under former president Thabo Mbeki. Changes to social security, industrial and trade policy and monetary policy are on the cards.
" Decent work for all, including the unemployed and the under-employed, must be the focus of all economic policies, including industrial and trade policy. The activities of all government departments, parastatals and development finance institutions should be reviewed to ensure more purposeful achievement of decent work outcomes," the alliance said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
