Business Report
*We have skills but lack zeal, says Patel * *Ethel Hazelhurst, Business Report, Johannesburg, 31 May 2011*The skills shortage was not the only reason for South Africa's high rate of unemployment and its failure to grow faster, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said yesterday.
Patel was speaking at the opening of a two-day development conference hosted by his department -- the first of what is to become an annual event to involve "all stakeholders" in his New Growth Path.
In November last year, Patel unveiled his plan to create 500 000 jobs a year, to cut the unemployment rate, which has risen from 22 percent to 25 percent since the onset of the recession in 2008. Yesterday he called on government departments, academics, the labour movement, civil society and leaders of industry to contribute to the debate.
On the skills issue, Patel referred to South African skills at work in Dubai, where South African construction companies have transformed the physical landscape. And he pointed to the achievements of the World Cup last year, which were applauded by the world for the "application of skill to the national effort".
"So we need to ask therefore, are there other reasons that contribute to the challenge of implementing good ideas?"
Patel stressed the need to ask difficult questions."Have we created so many rules, sometimes in the interests of good governance, for which we need international recognition, that we have handcuffed ourselves, making simple decisions the subject of rigid procedures?"
He referred to departments "with unspent money and society with unmet needs". He said: "When the rules don't permit flexible reallocation of resources, something is wrong."
Patel suggested too many core functions of the government might have been outsourced to public agencies and other public bodies "which do not feel accountable to the electoral mandate and the broad vision of government".
When he first published his growth plan, Patel acknowledged "a key issue is the inter-relationship of the proposals".
The integration of efforts to promote growth was still on his mind yesterday when he warned that the "fragmentation of institutions and the silo mentality" could be a constraint on effective delivery and implementation. And he asked whether there were "adequate consequences" for failure to deliver.
Another constraint he identified was confusion about the role of the boards of public agencies and the mandate of the public shareholder. "Government has to ensure it has the instruments of effective governance in the economic sphere," he said.
Elements of the New Growth Path have drawn criticism from the labour and business lobbies, with both disputing the effectiveness of various measures proposed.
"There is no grand blueprint that solves all problems. Much as this may disappoint those who hanker for simplistic solutions, for a one-size-fits-all policy, the so-called immutable laws of economics, when you carefully examine it, are no more than self-serving calls," he said.
"There are risks to every policy and we don't have answers to every future problem."
*From: http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/we-have-skills-but-lack-zeal-says-patel-1.1076358*
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