Date: 02/04/2004
Source: New National Party Title: M van Schalkwyk: NNP plan for sustained economic growth and job creation
Poverty affects all communities. Poverty and hardship do not ask whether a person supports a specific political party or belongs to a specific community.
We see people of all communities begging on street corners, we see mothers in all communities who cannot feed their children, we see soup kitchens and night shelters helping people of all communities and all ages.
South Africa’s Constitution includes specific references to the so-called second-generation rights of access to housing, health care, food, water, social security and basic education. The NNP views it as a constitutional obligation upon government to ensure access to these services and amenities.
Efforts to improve the welfare of the people of this country must be focused on job creation and skills development so that all our people have the opportunity to become economically independent, to regain their self-respect and sense of personal worth and dignity, and to enjoy greater freedom.
One of the foundations of a socially responsible society is, however, that it should be compassionate toward those who, through no fault of their own, suffer hardship. The NNP believes that government should contribute to building a caring society by helping communities to help themselves. This we plan to do by way of targeted poverty alleviation projects. But nowhere is poverty greater than in our rural areas. The only way in which to win the fight against poverty is through job creation and sustained economic growth.
For our families and our communities it is unemployment, poverty, and crime that affect South Africans more than any other issue. The NNP understands these issues because our party is from and in these communities. We know the frustration of unemployment. We know the bitter taste of hunger. We know the burning desire for pride and human dignity.
The NNP’s economic blueprint is designed with one aim – to achieve sustainable economic growth and real job creation in South Africa. We need higher rates of growth, and the NNP believes we can achieve levels of4% within three years. We need more jobs, and under our plan for the economy we will create a million permanent new jobs by 2008.
The NNP believes that the key to achieving these aims is the proper management of perceptions. We have a strong South African economy, in which most of the basics are already right. What we need is to reduce uncertainty and to make doing business in our country easier, more profitable and ultimately more attractive. Our response, as a country, toissues like Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids, conflict in Africa, and even the current debate within the Cabinet on immigration, all affect the perceptions of investors. Our policies on these issues need to be more firm, understandable and just.
We also need more carrot and less stick. Just this week it was shown that our level of corporate tax is about ten percent higher than the world average, and secondary taxes, added to the legal requirements to do business in South Africa, make investment less attractive. The NNP wants a full audit of all legislation, administrative and tax burdens, red-tape and Government procedures – to simplify doing business, to attract more investment and to create more jobs.
Ourlabour regulations in particular, are still too rigid and complex and must be reviewed. They act as a disincentive to employ staff - we need to ensure greater flexibility, in other words, by protecting the employed, but never at the expense of the unemployed. There is another aspect to managing perceptions of the economy that is just as important. Although the deficit is under control, inflation is down, and spending looks controlled, South African taxpayers still aren’t convinced that their taxes are being well spent or that they get value for money.
The NNP believes that a key to changing this perception is totarget spending more aggressively and more visibly on delivery of basic services to communities – and to introduce quality control systems that hold officials more accountable when delivery is sub-standard.
Source: New National Party Title: M van Schalkwyk: NNP plan for sustained economic growth and job creation
Poverty affects all communities. Poverty and hardship do not ask whether a person supports a specific political party or belongs to a specific community.
We see people of all communities begging on street corners, we see mothers in all communities who cannot feed their children, we see soup kitchens and night shelters helping people of all communities and all ages.
South Africa’s Constitution includes specific references to the so-called second-generation rights of access to housing, health care, food, water, social security and basic education. The NNP views it as a constitutional obligation upon government to ensure access to these services and amenities.
Efforts to improve the welfare of the people of this country must be focused on job creation and skills development so that all our people have the opportunity to become economically independent, to regain their self-respect and sense of personal worth and dignity, and to enjoy greater freedom.
One of the foundations of a socially responsible society is, however, that it should be compassionate toward those who, through no fault of their own, suffer hardship. The NNP believes that government should contribute to building a caring society by helping communities to help themselves. This we plan to do by way of targeted poverty alleviation projects. But nowhere is poverty greater than in our rural areas. The only way in which to win the fight against poverty is through job creation and sustained economic growth.
For our families and our communities it is unemployment, poverty, and crime that affect South Africans more than any other issue. The NNP understands these issues because our party is from and in these communities. We know the frustration of unemployment. We know the bitter taste of hunger. We know the burning desire for pride and human dignity.
The NNP’s economic blueprint is designed with one aim – to achieve sustainable economic growth and real job creation in South Africa. We need higher rates of growth, and the NNP believes we can achieve levels of4% within three years. We need more jobs, and under our plan for the economy we will create a million permanent new jobs by 2008.
The NNP believes that the key to achieving these aims is the proper management of perceptions. We have a strong South African economy, in which most of the basics are already right. What we need is to reduce uncertainty and to make doing business in our country easier, more profitable and ultimately more attractive. Our response, as a country, toissues like Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids, conflict in Africa, and even the current debate within the Cabinet on immigration, all affect the perceptions of investors. Our policies on these issues need to be more firm, understandable and just.
We also need more carrot and less stick. Just this week it was shown that our level of corporate tax is about ten percent higher than the world average, and secondary taxes, added to the legal requirements to do business in South Africa, make investment less attractive. The NNP wants a full audit of all legislation, administrative and tax burdens, red-tape and Government procedures – to simplify doing business, to attract more investment and to create more jobs.
Ourlabour regulations in particular, are still too rigid and complex and must be reviewed. They act as a disincentive to employ staff - we need to ensure greater flexibility, in other words, by protecting the employed, but never at the expense of the unemployed. There is another aspect to managing perceptions of the economy that is just as important. Although the deficit is under control, inflation is down, and spending looks controlled, South African taxpayers still aren’t convinced that their taxes are being well spent or that they get value for money.
The NNP believes that a key to changing this perception is totarget spending more aggressively and more visibly on delivery of basic services to communities – and to introduce quality control systems that hold officials more accountable when delivery is sub-standard.
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