The ANC elections manifesto has officially been launched after it went out and consulted South Africans. One has to agree with the theme “Let’s grow South Africa together”, looking at how the economy of the country has not grown in the past few years and how we were affected by a technical recession.

That the ANC has linked this theme directly to the economy shows that the ANC leadership is concerned about stagnation, which led to the loss of jobs.

We are in an era in which we need to work together towards growing South Africa’s economy and this will need all South Africans. Jobs can’t be created if the economy does not grow, so it’s in the best interest of all South Africans to unite and focus on this issue. Poverty creates many social ills, especially crime. We can’t build a perfect economy, — no country in the world has a perfect economy due to the capitalist system.

Ours is to unite as South Africans and not focus on the negative things that have happened in the past. We must learn lessons from the past to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to our economy to decline, which in turn led to people being retrenched from their jobs in the private sector.

The private sector in the main creates more jobs than the government, something that is the case not only in South Africa, but also throughout the world. So we need the private sector on board if we are to grow the economy. The ANC-led government can’t do it alone. We don’t have a state bank, which means banks in South Africa benefit a lot from their clients who work for the state.

At the end of the day, it is a give-and-take relationship between government and the private sector. This relationship must benefit the people of South Africa through the private sector helping government by creating more jobs in the near future. The manifesto is not only for members of the ANC, but one which all South Africans, including those in the private sector, must read to understand the vision of the ANC for the five years after the elections.

Since Cyril Ramaphosa took charge as the President of the Republic of South Africa, we have had a more stable economy. We need to unite as a nation and work towards growing the economy to make sure that the people of South Africa live under better conditions. The issue of the high price of petrol can’t be blamed on the ANC government, as it is not something that government has control over unless it subsidises fuel. The government can’t afford that because it is implementing free education. Rome was not built in a day.

Under the leadership of President Ramaphosa we are certain that we will see the economy grow, and this is because he was a businessman for many years before he became the deputy president of the country in 2014. He understands economic issues and how the markets work. We know that in 2018 President Ramaphosa hosted successful investment and jobs summits, a clear sign that the ANC-led government is working towards growing and stabilising the economy of the country. DM

Rebone Tau is a former ANCYL NTT International Relations Chairperson and a member of the review committee on what government has done to change the quality of life for women. She writes in her personal capacity.