ANC's 10-point 'economic plain' is nothing but deflection

IN THE more than 30 years of its government, the ANC has enough time to develop policies to grow the economy. 

Listening to its January 8 Statements, followed by the State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech will leave many believing that indeed the party was serious about changing the economic  fortunes of the country. 

What it presents on paper has always been divorced from what it does once it finds itself with state power.

It ends up having to spend more time defending itself against allegations of grand scale looting of public funds by some of its most senior members. 

If its former president is not implicated in state capture, the  current one cannot explain the concealment of undeclared foreign currency in couches on his Phala Phala farm.  

That is why the 10-point plan recently presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa to grow the economy should be seen as yet another ANC attempt to deflect attention for its monumental failures. 

Far from being new, what Ramaphosa tabled is a rehash of the ideas that his party has failed to execute when it was in charge of the government.

If it could not get it right then, how is it going to succeed with this plan when its Government of National Unity partners have yet to give it the green light? 

Perhaps it has not yet sunk in that it needs the buy-in of its coalition partners before it can claim to have plans to grow the economy. 

Already, the DA has questioned ANC ministers’ ability to implement the reforms at the required speed and depth.

 The ANC knows and fears that next year’s local government elections will leave it with another nosebleed. 

Perhaps this time around, it will not even be able to form part of the coalition government in key metros. What Ramaphosa presented was indicative of the last kicks of a dying cow. 

However, do not be surprised when the DA and others come to its rescue when voters have rejected it.

CAPE TIMES