President Cyril Ramaphosa says the delay in the finalisation of the comprehensive social compact that he promised to deliver within 100 days of his February State of the Nation Address (SONA) is owing to the fact that full agreement on a common objective has not yet been reached.

Writing in his weekly newsletter only days after former President Thabo Mbeki strongly rebuked the President for failing to deliver on his SONA commitment, Ramaphosa said he, too, wanted to see a consensus finalised.

“[But] given the complexity of the issues, and so that we don’t set ourselves up for failure, it is absolutely critical that genuine consensus is achieved among all social partners.” 

The President reports that a framework for a social compact has been developed, and that a team led by the Ministers of Employment and Labour; Trade, Industry and Competition; and Finance have been meeting with social partners to map out the priorities to be reflected in the new social compact.

“As the name implies, a new consensus can only be successfully implemented if there is full agreement on a common objective, the plan to achieve it, and a commitment by all partners to the plan’s implementation.

“We have seen what happens when such accords are concluded to much fanfare, only to fall short on implementation,” the President writes.

Part of the compact is likely to relate to tackling the electricity crisis and Ramaphosa is expected to announce an intervention to address intensifying load-shedding soon.

South Africa, he argues in his newsletter, does not need yet another plan to overcome the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

“That is why the focus of ongoing discussions is on a set of catalytic interventions for maximum impact.”

The compact will seek to build on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and the proposed framework will identify “priority actions to achieve higher levels of investment and growth, increase employment, unleash the dynamism of the private sector, protect the rights of workers, expand support for the unemployed and tackle extreme poverty”.

“What is required most of all on the social compact is a clear set of interventions with a credible plan for their implementation,” the President writes.

“While the State has a responsibility to improve the climate for the private sector to invest, implement social support measures to protect society’s most vulnerable, and spearhead poverty eradication programmes, there must be complementary actions by business.

“There must be a willingness from both organised business and labour to discuss the trade-offs needed to implement growth-enhancing measures in such a constrained economic environment.

“There needs to be greater alignment between government and civil society organisations in our communities on poverty alleviation programmes.”