South Africa has to focus on modernising its economy in the long-term as opposed to only focusing on short-term, or immediate, job creation, African National Congress (ANC) economic transformation committee chair Enoch Godongwana said on Monday.

Speaking at an ANC media breakfast briefing, held in Johannesburg, he said some seemed to think that the country’s infrastructure programmes, in particular, were only about job creation, however, this was not the case.

“In the short-term, it is about job creation but, in the longer-term, it is about modernising our economy with better infrastructure,” Godongwana said, adding that industrialising the South African economy was among the ANC’s main goals to achieve over the next five years.

“This government has done a lot to promote growth and we believe that economic growth and expansion creates jobs,” Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi added, also speaking at the briefing. 

Further, Godongwana stated that infrastructure was an important component of industrialisation, with the ANC planning to improve energy, logistics and transport, as well as information and communications technology infrastructure.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said, currently, energy was certainly a structural constraint to the South African economy; however, he added that government did have a plan to overcome this.

“But this constraint is not going to kill us, we are going to recover,” Gordhan said, comparing South Africa’s energy problems to an athlete with a temporary injury.

“[It is also important to note that], as we are a governing party, most of our projections are realistic and based on concrete numbers,” Godongwana said.

Gordhan reiterated this statement, saying that the projects the ANC was suggesting in its election manifesto overlapped with those mentioned in the National Development Plan and, therefore, the necessary funding was available.

Meanwhile, Godongwana said youth employment was also an important aspect of industrialisation and growing the economy, adding that the Employment Tax Incentive Act would play an important role in achieving this.

However, innovation was also needed, he said, stating that the country had to “step up” its science and technology research and development.

MINIMUM WAGE
It also emerged at the briefing that the ANC was considering implementing a minimum wage system.

Godongwana said the party was currently in discussions with its alliance partners on this topic and that it would get back to the detailed work that had to be done “immediately after the election”.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant added that the ANC had not yet decided whether the minimum wage would be national or sectoral, adding that this would be decided through further discussions.

Gordhan pointed out that there were already more than 165 sectoral minimum-wage agreements in South Africa and, therefore, it was not a new concept for the country.

The minimum wage strategy would be implemented over the next five years.

CENTRALISED BARGAINING
Oliphant also said the ANC had, after discussions with its alliance partners, come to the conclusion that the manner in which bargaining was dealt with in South Africa had to be reevaluated.

She said the party had been in discussions with various mining CEOs and unions, with all, except the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), agreeing that collective bargaining was key.

However, AMCU did indicate that while it still wanted to negotiate independently during this financial year, it would be part of a centralised system at a later stage, Oliphant said.

Further, she said the ANC was looking at ways in which to use arbitration to prevent lengthy strikes.

“We need to learn more from the experience of Canada, where a strike can’t [extend] beyond three days,” Oliphant said.

Currently, AMCU was striking at platinum producers Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Lonmin’s mines, for an increase in basic wages.

The strike started on January 23.