SPEECH BY NORTH WEST PREMIER POPO MOLEFE AT THE OPENING AT THE DISPATCH PLANT AT THE PRETORIA PORTLAND CEMENT IN SLURRY ON FRIDAY
Issued by: North West Communication Service
THEME : INCREASED LEVELS OF PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVENESS IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD.
The central goal of the government's economic policy, as it is envisaged in the reconstruction and development programme, is to create a strong, dynamic and balanced economy that will have the capacity to eliminate poverty, low wages, and the extreme inequalities in job opportunities and wealth distribution.
Such an economy must also be able to develop the human resource capacity of all South Africans so that the economy yields high skills and wages, in conditions of low labour costs and increased levels of productivity and competitiveness.
These objectives can be achieved with the co-operation of the trade union movement, business and other institutions of civil society. The private sector must use the skills and acumen of all South Africans, to produce goods and services which are competitive in terms of quality, attractiveness and price.
1. One vital ingredient of a productive and competitive economy is that economic activity should be democratized, which means that there should be broader consultation and participation in major decision-making processes. Management and trade unions should discard outdated adversarial roles of "us" and "them" and maintain democratic principles of transparency, accountability and consultation.
2. In an attempt to address the question of productivity, some commentators and business people have been suggesting of late that labour movements should be prepared to forgo increases in wages and salaries as a contribution by the workers to a growth in the economy. This suggestion has come as a result of the successes of such an undertaking by trade unions elsewhere, for example in Germany.
There is nothing really wrong with this premise.
But there is also evidence which seems to suggest that productive employment which is sufficiently paying to allow individuals to meet their basic personal consumption needs, is a fundamental requirement for an increase in growth rates.
Unless there is acknowledgment of the correlation between productivity and remuneration, there does not seem to me to be any feasible way of achieving higher levels of productivity and competitiveness.
3. Technology has an important role to play in the process of human development, and the achievement of high productivity levels and competitiveness; and in South Africa there is urgent need for employment of high technology in terms of management and production techniques. This differs from industry to industry. But certainly the use of technology should contribute to greater productive employment opportunities, elimination of poverty and be able to achieve equitable income distribution.
Contrary to belief in certain quarters, increased output of goods, even if it comes as a result of the use of improved technology, does not automatically translate into higher levels of employment and improved living standards.
The history of South Africa shows that the high levels of economic growth of the 60's did not improve the wages or the standards of living of the majority of our people.
The challenge that is facing all role-players in the economy, is to devise strategies by which growth of aggregate national output can be accompanied by a corresponding reduction in poverty and inequality, and provide sufficient job opportunities within acceptable time-frames.
It is no longer acceptable in human terms or responsible in political terms to wait several generations for the benefits of development to tricke down until they finally reach the poorest groups.
But we are not suggesting that the exclusive use of labour- intensive techniques will necessarily solve the problems of unemployment, nor are we suggesting a slow-down in the use of capital intensive techniques. Individual companies shuld strike a balance between the need to create employment and the need to employ modern technology.
4. It is about time that the private sector seriously applied its mind to education and training. There should be an appreciable investment in the training of workers and managers in an attempt to overcome the shortage of skills which are to some extent among the main bottlenecks in the way of growth and development. Education and training will increase productivity and hence the incomes of the company and its workers.
The government bears the ultimate responsibility, in terms of co-ordinating, planning and guiding the development of the economy towards a sustainable economic growth pattern. It place a major role in maintaining macro-economic price stability and balance of payments. The government has to take difficult political and economic decisions especially where it has to encourage shifts in investment: from physical to human capital, from urban to rural development, from capital intensive to labour-intensive activities, and from the production of non-essential consumer goods to essential ones.
CONCLUSION
We are eminently pleased to witness this expansion in the activities of the Slurry factory of Pretoria Portland Cement Company. It is an encouraging sign that there is growth in the economy of this country, and this development means a lot in terms of the 300 jobs created.
It is hoped that co-operation and trust will reign supreme between the workers and management of this plant, and produce cement which is competitive in terms of price, sustainable availability and quality. This cement is needed in the RDP projects for building houses, dams, bridges, roads, schools, clinics and a most of other developmental needs.