14 February 2003
The South African Communist Party (SACP) welcomes the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Thabo Mbeki when he opened parliament in Cape Town today.
Alliance Processes
As the SACP, we are pleased that the overall strategic thrust of the Address organically emerged from a sustained process of collective alliance discussion during 2002 - starting with the Ekurhuleni Summit of the Alliance in April, the ANC Policy Conference in September and the 51st National Conference of the ANC in December.
Over the last three years the SACP has consistently raised that economic growth and development are to be welcomed but needs to translate to tangible benefits for millions of our people. The acknowledgement by President Mbeki of what he called a dual economy and the need to address this reality are important in this regard.
Therefore, the specific interventions (social health insurance, social security, extension of the Child Support Grant and Public Works’ Programmes) announced by President Mbeki need decisive action and to be located within the strategic understanding of a country whose economy excludes the majority of the people. On their own, these interventions will not address the structural crisis of an under-developed economy. In the view of the SACP, this is where the importance of the Growth and Development Summit lies.
Growth and Development Summit
The Summit provides an important platform from which to develop and achieve consensus on a broad, developmental approach to Black Economic Empowerment; a means for leveraging real commitments from the private sector in terms of community investment, job creation, SMME and co-opera facilitation. In the view of the SACP, one of the central tasks of this Summit must include specific, identifiable poverty targets in line with the President’s focus on poverty eradication of social security and social health insurance. The public debate is full of discussion about whether we will meet growth targets, and inflation targets – but there is not the same national focus on the need to reduce the inequality gap.
The Summit must also be an important opportunity to consolidate a state-led economic growth and development strategy premised on the building of a strong, democratic and accountable public sector. The SACP considers state-owned enterprises to have a pivotal role in the growth and development strategy.
The Summit must also lay the basis for ensuring that as a country we align our macro-economic policy with, and does not frustrate, the very progressive commitments and announcements made by President Mbeki. Importantly, the Summit must also agree on implementation and monitoring mechanisms.
The Financial Sector and Co-operatives
The SACP is particularly pleased at the government’s commitment to address micro-financing, access to credit for socio-economic development and increased government attention to the promotion and development of co-operatives. These are very much in line with the SACP-led campaign to transform and diversify the financial sector.
During this year, government and all social partners must give impetus to implementation of the very important agreements reached at the NEDLAC-hosted Financial Sector Summit held in August 2002. Amongst other things, this means that government must pay urgent attention to the implementation of the agreement to develop legislation on co-operative banking.
Poverty Eradication and Social Security
The provision of free health care to all people with disabilities and the extension of the Child Support Grant to cover children up to the age of 14 are important steps forward. The SACP hopes that this will be taken forward through gradual extension of the Child Support Grant to cover all children up to the age of 18 based. The development and finalisation of a comprehensive social security system, social health insurance and the establishment of a Social Security Agency create a conducive climate for a mature debate on the necessity, desirability and feasibility or otherwise of a Basic Income Grant for all South Africans. Taken together, all these measures will have the impact of increasing the social wage of millions of South Africans who are poor and unemployed.
These measures are in line with the very issues raised by the SACP’s 2002 Red October Campaign and that the SACP’s 2003 Programme of Action will take forward.
HIV/AIDS
Regarding HIV/AIDS the announcements made by the President must lay the basis for decisive government leadership and unity in action with all South Africans around a dynamic and comprehensive strategy to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
International situation
The SACP strongly support the stance taken by the President on the need for the peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis within a multi-lateral context. The SACP agrees with the President that uni-lateralism represents one of the most serious threats to world peace and social progress. The President’s statement on the need to conclusively deal with the democratisation of Swaziland, and the liberation of the peoples of Western Sahara and Palestine require decisive action by government and increased international solidarity by the people of South Africa.
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel – 011 339 3621; Fax – 011 339 4244, Cell – 083 651 0271
Email– mazibuko@sacp.org.za