Delivering his Budget Vote in Parliament last week, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said government would be prioritising six ‘i’s’ as part of a “radical economic transformation” agenda. The components included infrastructure, industrialisation, investment, innovation, inclusion and integration.

He said that, over the previous five years, government had lifted investment in public infrastructure from R610-billion to R1.1-trillion and that State and private investment in public infrastructure would rise to at least R1.5-trillion over the coming five years.

To spur industrialisation, his department would seek to leverage President Jacob Zuma’s dialogue with business to unlock productive investments. Emphasis would also be given to using development finance to stimulate industrial diversification, job creation, localisation and mineral and agricultural beneficiation.

The capacity of the competition authorities would also be strengthened to impose remedies on dominant players and monopolies, to benefit consumers and industries.

To encourage inclusion, efforts would be made, again with the support of the development finance institutions, to support the creation of “hands-on” black industrialists, as well as facilitate youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Regional integration, meanwhile, was being viewed by government as the “best way to widen our markets”. To further support this thrust, government would finalise the ‘African Free Trade Agreement’ over the coming five years to create an integrated market of 26 countries with 600-million consumers.

There is no question that these i’s have much merit and that progress in all these areas will be vital if South Africa is to extricate itself from its current problems.

However, besides the ‘six i’s’, government would do well to also embrace ‘six c’s’ if it is to truly lead a performance change in the economy.

The primary ‘c’ has to be a focus on and commitment to ‘clean governance’ – an area where South Africa is currently weak and where visible progress would go a long way to rebuilding trust among citizens.

Secondly, there is a need for government to emphasise ‘capability’ throughout the public sector, be it at schools, clinics, or at Home Affairs.

‘Collaboration and consultation’ will also be essential; particularly as it becomes increasingly important for government to shore up the nonfiscal resources it needs move ahead with some of its ambitious investment programmes, while also navigating its Constitutional responsibilities.

Closely associated with assuring Constitutionality would be to have leaders who are ‘compassionate’. In other words leaders who place the needs of citizens, especially society’s most vulnerable citizens, at the heart of their decision-making processes and who remain accountable for the decisions they take.

Fifthly, ‘creativity’ needs to be encouraged and incentivised, particularly in dealing with the triple scourge of unemployment, poverty and inequality.

The last ‘c’ relates to building ‘confidence’, the absence of which is arguably the main reason for South Africa’s current economic underperformance.