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23 August, 2000It would be suicidal for the government to change its policy from day to day, the South African trade and industry minister tells the Numsa Congress.
SOUTH AFRICA: Addressing the ongoing Sixth National Congress of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), with its theme "Taking the Struggle for Socialism into the 21st Century," South Africa's trade and industry minister, Alec Erwin, said the government was on the right economic path.
He told the 750 participants, including international guests, that the ANC took a bold political decision in 1994 to introduce its macro-economic policies. It was an unpopular move, but it had to be made.
"When we came into power in 1994," declared Erwin, "everyone called us a bunch of terrorists and communists and they doubted our ability to govern, and we chose a policy that would make South Africa more competitive in the open market. We chose this route to reduce the deficit, balance of payments and interest rates, and stabilise inflation."
Throughout his speech Erwin defended the government's economic policies and challenged the unions to analyse issues before drawing conclusions.
"You must distinguish between the ideology, those underlying processes in production relations and forces of change. We too often confuse neo-liberal ideology and ignore underlying changes. True, neo-liberal ideology is used to explain why what is happening now is correct. Many of you have accused us of being neo-liberal."
"We don't chop and change our views - we are not bloody fools."
He said the government was moving into the next phase of creating jobs and increasing investment.
"The strategy is to build a modern manufacturing sector, which will put Numsa in the forefront. We have cheap energy, raw materials, infrastructure and the workforce. We must use this strength to rebuild the engineering sector."
Source: Dispatch Online
He told the 750 participants, including international guests, that the ANC took a bold political decision in 1994 to introduce its macro-economic policies. It was an unpopular move, but it had to be made.
"When we came into power in 1994," declared Erwin, "everyone called us a bunch of terrorists and communists and they doubted our ability to govern, and we chose a policy that would make South Africa more competitive in the open market. We chose this route to reduce the deficit, balance of payments and interest rates, and stabilise inflation."
Throughout his speech Erwin defended the government's economic policies and challenged the unions to analyse issues before drawing conclusions.
"You must distinguish between the ideology, those underlying processes in production relations and forces of change. We too often confuse neo-liberal ideology and ignore underlying changes. True, neo-liberal ideology is used to explain why what is happening now is correct. Many of you have accused us of being neo-liberal."
"We don't chop and change our views - we are not bloody fools."
He said the government was moving into the next phase of creating jobs and increasing investment.
"The strategy is to build a modern manufacturing sector, which will put Numsa in the forefront. We have cheap energy, raw materials, infrastructure and the workforce. We must use this strength to rebuild the engineering sector."
Source: Dispatch Online