Johannesburg — THE ruling African National Congress (ANC) yesterday played down the effect on its economic policies of a raft of recommendations made by ally the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

"We have an economic transformation document. That is our starting point to discuss matters," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said.

Proposals in a Cosatu document cited by City Press yesterday include a tax on people earning the top 10% of SA's national income, limiting foreign ownership of big corporations to 51%, and mandating 75% of "the content carried by wholesale and retail sectors" to be local.

Cosatu's spokesman, Patrick Craven, declined to comment yesterday, saying the document will be released only on September 16.

Coming shortly before the ANC's national general council later this month, the recommendations highlight the gap in thinking between the labour federation and the ANC on the best way to create jobs and boost equality. The ANC does not share the same policies as Cosatu "at this point", Mr Mthembu said, adding that this month's council is not about new policies, but about assessing implementation of existing ones.

"Of course, Cosatu and other alliance partners have the right to enrich (the ANC's published economic policy document)," he said.

The Cosatu recommendations show the labour federation feels ANC thinking is insufficient to deal with economic policy and it has a different approach to resolving SA's stark inequalities, political analyst Steven Friedman said.

"The ANC is asking what can be done given the existing economic power balance, while Cosatu is asking what can be done to change the power balance." He said the ANC's own discussion document on economic policy for its national general council identifies concerns similar to those in the document.

But while the ANC, for example, has suggested revising the broad- based black economic empowerment codes to favour local producers, Cosatu has suggested a mandatory 75% local content requirement. And while Cosatu has suggested a tax on the rich, an ANC proposal for promoting equity has been to discourage conspicuous consumption, with a tax on luxuries.

As reported, Cosatu's document seems to be an acknowledgment that, in order to push a pro-poor agenda, it needs to build and strengthen itself in the economy, Prof Friedman said.

"The past 16 years have shown the ballot box, though necessary, is not a sufficient path to power," City Press quoted it as saying.

This suggests an acknowledgment by Cosatu that the changes it wants are long-term ones and will only come about by building the labour movement, rather than by influencing the ANC immediately, said Prof Friedman.

He argued that t here is "no way" that the proposals will get through the national general council. "Some of the people who stand to lose if Cosatu's proposals go through are ANC members, and the Treasury is also likely to object to yet others."

With Michael Bleby