By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Business leaders has once again questioned whether the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) structure’s current composition and functioning are “fit for purpose”.
The social partners met for the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) annual summit, in Johannesburg on Friday.
Nedlac was established in 1995, shortly after the end of apartheid, as a platform for dialogue between the government, business, labour and community organisations.
By providing a structured environment for these stakeholders to collaborate, Nedlac has played a role in shaping South Africa’s post-apartheid economic and social landscape.
But Cas Coovadia, the chief executive of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) said, “more work needs to be done to consider whether Nedlac is fit for purpose in the current environment and for the challenges that lie ahead”.
In 2021 the Nedlac executive council established a governance task team to review the council’s founding documents, including the Nedlac Act and the Nedlac constitution.
“We believe this should have been done earlier — to look at Nedlac’s progress, relevance and positioning. We believe it’s critical,” Coovadia said.
Some of the work done by the council has included the consideration of legislation such as the Companies Bill (2019), the Competition Amendment Bill (2008 and 2018) and the National Health Insurance Bill (2019).
Nedlac has also brought parties together such as the Electricity Summit, which led to a Nedlac Accord (2008); the development of the Framework for South Africa’s Response to the International Crisis (2009); the Social Compact to support Eskom (2020); and the Covid-19 Nedlac Rapid Response Task Team (2020 – 2022).
Coovadia said in the past 30 years the world and the issues that governments have to contend with have changed and Nedlac must evolve accordingly.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has pleaded for more support from the private sector as government looks to double down on Operation Vulindlela to turn the economy around.
Formed at the height of COVID-19 in 2020, Operation Vulindlela is part of an initiative to overcome stumbling blocks in telecomms, the energy and logistics sectors in a bid to spur economic growth and job creation.
In the first phase of Operation Vulindlela, almost 20 priority reforms were identified, with 95 percent already completed or near complete.
But Mashatile said more still needed to be done.
“The government is considering expanding Operation Vulindlela work to other critical areas of the economy, and it would appreciate the same social partnership to make these areas work.”
Government said it was committed to implementing bold structural reforms to place the economy on a growth path amid low growth and persistent infrastructure challenges.
The latest commitment comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flagged concerns about stumbling blocks to the economic recovery plan.
Congress of South African Trade Unions general-secretary Solly Phetoe, by contrast, highlighted the role that Nedlac had played in recent years in facilitating consensus on how to tackle serious problems such as loadshedding.
“Many critics have questioned the relevance of Nedlac, yet it is here that the Eskom social compact was finalised, giving momentum to the debt-relief package that today is helping Eskom to shift its focus to maintenance and ending loadshedding,” Phetoe said.
Nedlac executive director Lisa Seftel, meanwhile, urged both “continuity and change”, arguing that Nedlac should continue to provide an inclusive platform for dialogue on socio-economic policies and Bills and labour-market reform.
It also needed, however, to find a way for proactive collaboration on priority areas, as well as areas of threat, such as climate change.
“The Government of National Unity provides for a narrow path of change, balancing reform for inclusive growth with cushioning workers, businesses and communities.”
Lessons from 30 years of democracy show us that where social partners share similar concerns on critical areas, there is a solid basis for partnerships,” Seftel said.