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It was necessary to consider a plan taking another look at South Africa's economy, African National Congress national spokesperson Pule Mabe has said.
Mabe was speaking following the release of an economic policy paper for public comment by Treasury on Tuesday, which also saw Finance Minister Tito Mboweni call on members of the public to have their say.
The 77-page report Economic Transformation, inclusive growth and competitiveness: Towards an economic strategy for South Africa includes interventions and reforms to reverse the country's "downward trend" of economic growth. Treasury says the proposals could raise the country's economic growth rate by up to 3% and create as many as a million job opportunities.
"This is important, especially when considering a plan that could help us with the creation of jobs, that ignites public confidence and positively deals with a contracting economy," said Mabe.
The governing party’s spokesperson praised the draft outlook for focusing on a more stable macro-economic framework, saying it reflected a broader desire to lessen public sector debt and to boost business confidence.
"It also seems to have a great bias towards labour intensive methods, among others learnerships, and is primarily targeted at the youth," said Mabe, noting this as a good suggestion.
On Wednesday, Treasury Director General Dondo Mogajane, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a Parliamentary briefing, said Treasury engaged with other ministers and director generals of departments for input before releasing the paper. Labour federation Cosatu has reserved its comments for a Thursday media briefing, while the SACP says it has "noted" the report.
Mabe said the ANC itself could only now look at the document, which was published on Tuesday afternoon, and all the different stakeholders were taken on board.
"We can only make a positive and meaningful contribution when all social partners are involved, at one and each playing a meaningful role towards the South Africa we want," said Mabe.
* Additional reporting by Lameez Omarjee
