On March 30, the Nedbank Group released its annual report, and in a section titled Chairman’s Report, Dr Reuel Khoza makes several assertions about the ANC government – some of which can’t go unchallenged.
He wrote: “One of the major socio-economic and political challenges facing our country is addressing unemployment and creating jobs.”
This is true and we are all agreed, so, after thorough research and preparation, the ANC released its elections manifesto in January 2009 that emphasised among the five key priorities the issue of job creation.
We said: “Unemployment, poverty and inequality remain serious challenges.
“Decent work is a foundation of the fight against poverty and inequality.”
Since 2009, this government programme has made huge investments on infrastructure roll-out, rural development with the view of creating jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
This is because we know both in theory and in practice that once you have a big army of the unemployed, you have a potential army for counter-revolution.
In carrying out its responsibility to create a conducive environment for economic growth, job creation and development, the democratic state relies on the formal instruments available to it, but, above all, it relies on the active involvement of members of society in changing their lives for the better – as individuals, and in organised formations in politics, labour, business, and various civil society structures, with the citizens being the bedrock of fundamental change.
The ANC government is doing its part greatly to address these challenges, and would continue rising to this challenge unapologetically and unflinchingly.
Prominent by their omission in Dr Khoza’s assessment of challenges are the issues of persistent racialised poverty and inequality, a legacy of imperialist plunder, slave wages and racialist capitalist development, and what Nedbank, among others, is doing to address and arrest these for a better life for all.
Understandably, the good doctor would not want to touch on these issues, lest he offends his paymasters, who I should assume are predominantly the beneficiaries of centuries of racist economic and political dispensations.
And one of the solutions from Dr Khoza?
“We believe government and the private sector should collaborate to create a programme to deploy the(se) unemployed graduates and recently qualified people to local authorities for a few years.”
For a few years?
The good Nedbank non-executive chairman is not saying we should collaborate to create programmes to permanently absorb young graduates in the workforce to make sure that they are competent and employable and employed in order to address the skills shortages and creation of decent jobs and sustainable livelihood.
What Dr Khoza is advocating for is the continuation of casually absorbing graduates in learnership programmes in short-term contracts for tax benefits and meeting quotas for training and skills development, only to release the young graduates few years later into the army of the unemployed.
No, we must hand it to Dr Khoza, he has learnt all the tricks of the business game to pretend to be doing something by not doing much while making self-serving noises to deflect attention and to grandstand.
No, chairman – Nedbank and all of us have a responsibility to do our very best to absorb the unemployed into long-term and permanent productive activity.
Dr Khoza also wrote: “Government should create an enabling environment with minimal regulations to enable entrepreneurs to flourish.”
Really?
The global financial crisis that started in 2008 refutes this assertion. It is the minimal or total absence of regulations that resulted in this crisis.
Comparatively, SA came better off because we have regulated the financial sector.
Most scholars applaud the ANC government for that.
We also know that without regulations, business exploits workers and pays slave wages, including casualising the workforce without any benefits while it maximises profits and pays itself huge bonuses.
Our history has created concentration of wealth in the hands of the few monopolies, therefore rendering trite the vainglorious declaration that national oppression and its social consequences can be resolved by formal democracy underpinned by market forces to which all should kneel in prayer with everyone for himself and the devil taking the hindmost.
The experience of humanity demonstrates that markets on their own are unable to deal with challenges such as ours.
About upholding our constitution, Dr Khoza made the following remarks: “SA is widely recognised for its liberal and enlightened constitution.” Then, without providing any shred of evidence to substantiate his claim the Nedbank chairman continued: “Yet we observe the emergence of a strange breed of leaders who are determined to undermine the rule of law and override the constitution. Our political leadership’s moral quotient is degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the past.”
Such thoughtless comments – devoid of any substance and without any foundation in fact – undermine the values and intentions of our constitution.
Our constitution is not a product of a Mount Sinai revelation that is cast in stone. It came as a result of the selfless struggle and sacrifices of many South Africans and the members of the international progressive community.
It is founded on the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism and non-sexism, and the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
In its preamble it says: “We, the people of South Africa, recognise the injustices of our past; honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;… believe that SA belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity;… adopt this constitution as the supreme law of the republic so as to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;… improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.”
In the past 16 years since the adoption of the constitution, 16 amendments have been made but none indicated that the ANC-led government wanted to shut down or suppress any organs of our constitutional democracy.
We are firm in that we will only change the constitution to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person, and build a united and democratic SA able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
In the 18 years that we have been privileged to be elected in government with increasing margins, we have not committed any act that may suggest that we want to encroach on the rights of our citizens in any way.
Dr Khoza should not hide in the comfort of his cushy Nedbank offices making baseless statements.
The assertion that our constitution is “liberal and enlightened” is inadequate as a definition.
The constitution is also essentially a living document enshrining, among others, the socio-economic rights that liberal constitutions do not make.
For us, this document is the basis on which we can advance the social transformation agenda that society wants.
The good doctor further made statements such as: “We have a duty to build and develop this nation and to call to book the putative leaders who, due to sheer incapacity to deal with the complexity of 21st century governance and leadership, cannot lead.”
Dr Khoza holds in contempt the democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people, and regards the millions who voted this government into power as stupid. He is arrogating unto himself the monopoly of wisdom and the power to determine and evaluate who should lead our country.
He postures about political leadership’s moral quotient, yet says nothing about the ethics and morals of business that perpetuate the historical injustice of colonialism and apartheid.
Instead of boosting investor confidence to enable him to fulfil his mandate to sell Nedbank, he makes reckless statements that can only hurt SA and make his mission unattainable. This will contribute to his failure and will have dire consequences on economic growth and job creation.
The ANC is a product of a given historical period, formed to unite the African people in the struggle for equality. Over the years, it developed to embrace non-racialism both as a principle and as a guide to its composition and day-to-day practice.
Our founders further understood that a fundamental condition for liberation is democracy and an abiding culture of human rights. All citizens should be guaranteed the right to elect a government of their choice, freedom of expression, and freedom from discrimination, and other rights entrenched in the constitution.
They should have a government not only formally based on their will, but one that is open and transparent, and one that consults and involves the people in policy formulation and implementation.
This was the vision of the ANC’s founders, and it has gained rather than lost credibility in the years that followed. This vision was confirmed and advanced by a series of documents that were produced and adopted by the ANC over the past 100 years of selfless struggle to put us where we are today.
Just over a month ago the ANC released a policy discussion document in preparation for the 53rd national conference in Manguang.
The ANC invited all sectors of our society to enhance its thinking and policy outcomes.
Dr Khoza should use his standing in society to respond to these issues facing us in totality, and shun the temptation to cast aspersions and blame others.
The leadership in any nation is located in different branches of society and all the branches should play their part in the development and advancement of society.
We do not have to remind Dr Khoza that less than 20 years ago, he would not have dreamt of being the chairman of Nedbank if it were not for the relentless and selfless struggle of our people, led and guided by the ANC and its leadership that he despises so much today.
The ANC fought for the freedom of expression, and respects his individual right to express his opinion, as much as we reserve our right to respond to any view whether correct or questionable.
The ANC will never let our country degenerate and allow a recurrence of the past where Dr Khoza would be reduced to nothing – but he must also play his meaningful role in the advancement and development of society and the creation of a better life for all.
The task that remains for SA patriots to accomplish is to overcome the legacy of a social system that was based on the oppression of the black majority to create decent jobs and sustainable livelihood.
n Mthethwa is a member of the ANC national executive committee and the minister of police.