The head of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) believes that 2013 offers a narrow window of opportunity to re-establish the credibility of the organisation and to reassert the role of social dialogue as a vital tool for dealing with some of South Africa’s most intractable socioeconomic problems.

Alistair Smith, who took over the position of executive director just over a year ago, tells Engineering News Online that recent labour unrest in the mining and agricultural sectors, as well as the tragic events that took place near to Lonmin’s Marikana mine on August 16, have rekindled the desire among organised business and labour and government for a more effective process of social dialogue.

However, whether the crisis will be used as an opportunity to create a new “social contract” will depend on the level of commitment and leadership shown from all constituencies.

It will also hinge, Smith argues, on improving inclusivity and on the preparedness of the partners to enter into a “genuine conversation” about the problems afflicting South Africa, rather than seeking to gain ground for entrenched positions.

On the face of it there appears to be an increased desire for a possible new compact.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has become increasingly vocal in his call for a “Lula Moment”, modelled on the social and economic progress that took place in Brazil under former President Luiz Lula da Silva.

Others are clamouring for an “economic Codesa”, while yet others, such as Business Unity South Africa’s Raymond Parsons, have suggested that South Africa should rally behind the National Development Plan 2030, which has been published by the National Planning Commission.

Smith believes the recent ‘Presidential High Level Dialogue on the economy’, which took place on October 17, was a clear signal of government’s desire to place social dialogue back at the heart of South Africa’s attempts to deal with the problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

He says Nedlac will seek to add momentum to the initiative by engineering a process through which government, business, labour and civil society groups can begin to consider the possibility of a new five-year social contract aligned to the next government’s term of office – South Africa is scheduled to hold elections in early 2014.

The secretariat is hoping to kick off this process during the first quarter of 2013 by encouraging each individual constituency to identify key priorities as well as areas on which they are willing to compromise. The idea is to enable the individual constituencies to grapple with what are currently perceived to be “holy cows” before entering into a dialogue with all the other social partners.

Through such “soul searching”, Smith hopes new ideas and new leaders will emerge, as many of those involved in Nedlac processes are the same individuals that were involved in the National Economic Forum, which predated democracy and the creation of Nedlac.

The content of any new social contract would necessarily emerge through a broader cross-constituency negotiation. But Smith believes it will have to deal with ways to increase growth, investment, and productivity, while dealing with the difficult matter of rising prices, including administered prices and wages.

In parallel, Smith says he is working to improve the effectiveness of Nedlac’s ordinary work and mandate, which is to build consensus on key socioeconomic legislation before it enters the Parliamentary processes.

Already there has been a marked improvement in turnaround times and Smith believes Nedlac is now in a position to ensue that proposed legislation moves through the consultation phase in a three- to six-month timeframe.

Improving effectiveness and turnaround times is also seen as key to rebuilding the credibility of Nedlac, which some believe has run its course.

“The more streamlined and effective we are in dealing with our core mandate, the more credibility we will gain, which, in turn, will give us more influence in ramping up the processes around some of South Africa’s bigger challenges,” Smith says. “That’s my plan,” he concludes.