SA needs 7% growth, says Gordhan

Durban - South Africa needs economic growth of at least 7% to create jobs, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday.

Gordhan was speaking at the policy conference of the African National Congress. "We need to promote 7% growth in order to create jobs," he said in a speech.

The meeting of the ANC, which opened in Durban on Monday, marks one of the party's most important political events in years.

Gordhan also said South Africa has lost billions of rands through corruption.

"It's a cancer. If you don't catch it early enough and if you don't tackle it early enough, it will become the end," he said.

He said there were many worrying developments in the global economy.

An international downturn last year saw South Africa slide into its first recession since 1992. The country is expected to grow by about 3% this year, not enough to create much-needed jobs.

Policies under the spotlight

President Jacob Zuma faces a major battle to shore up his authority this week when the ANC meets to shape policies, including guidance on the strong rand and left-wing calls for mine nationalisation.

Zuma faces leaving the National General Council in a weakened position if he fails to hold on to old allies, who want left-leaning economic policies, or to win over some new ones, possibly jeopardising the rest of his term that ends in 2014.

He is already widely seen as an ineffective leader. Zuma's former backers have indicated they may not support him for a second term, while growth prospects for South Africa are slowing and a dispute which led to 1.3 million state workers going on strike has yet to be resolved.

"The difficulty for someone such as Zuma is that he has to appease so many different challenges and demands. And being someone who is a consensus-seeking leader, you will always look weak in the process," said Roland Henwood of the University of Pretoria's Institute for Strategic and Political Affairs.

One of Zuma's main tasks is to repair an alliance with the powerful labour federation Cosatu, strained by the three-week state workers' strike which was suspended earlier this month, and union accusations of growing cronyism in his government.

Another will be fending off various rivals in the splintered ANC who are lining up their own bids for power in Africa's oldest political party when it enters a post-Zuma era.

Analysts expect Zuma, who is due to address the meeting at about 10:00 on Monday, to pay lip service to economic proposals made by Cosatu, such as weakening the rand. But they also believe he is not forceful or decisive enough to push through any major change.

The calls for mine nationalisation by Cosatu and the ANC's Youth League are not likely to lead to any major change for the sector that accounts for about 6% to 7% of economic growth, analysts said.

The Durban meeting lasts until Friday. The next major event on the ANC calendar is in 2012 when the party holds its National Policy Council, which convenes every five years and is used to elect ANC leaders.