By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former banker and Primedia CEO Roger Jardine launched its party charter manifesto in Soweto. Change Starts Now (CSN) has unveiled a R500bn redevelopment plan to help grow South Africa’s struggling economy blighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, persistent power cuts, debilitating infrastructure and runaway unemployment.
The party, established in December, also proposes increases in wealth, corporate, and individual taxes in order to “bridge the gap between different sectors of society ensuring everyone has the opportunity to thrive”.
Jardine says South Africa needs a Marshall Plan because it is in a post-war-like condition. And that Marshall Plan must be funded by what He calls a “Social Solidarity Fund” of R500-billion to kickstart the economy and plough resources into the poorest communities to close South Africa’s yawning inequality gap.
It will be funded through a wealth tax for three years, with the following increases:
- A corporate income tax increase of 4.2 percentage points for three years (from 28% to 32.2%);
- A tax increase for top earners (more than R1.8-million a year) from 45% to 49.5%; and
- A 1%-a-year charge on retirement funds for three years.
He said there was support for the idea among business leaders he had met, in civil society organisations working with Change Starts Now and people he had encountered during his tour of South Africa.
Jardine said the fund was an extraordinary intervention to boost capability and one of the oldest fiscal instruments around — for countries emerging from a financial crisis, a pandemic, or a war.
He said his party also plans massive grant increases, a food security initiative to deal with near-famine conditions in the poorest parts of South Africa and expanding early childhood education, he said.
Jardine said after contesting the election, the party wanted to be part of a progressive coalition of parties to govern South Africa.
The manifesto
Central to the manifesto are themes of economic reform, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Jardine’s approach is not just about addressing current issues but preventing future crises by fostering a system that values resilience and inclusivity.
Basic income grants/social support policy
- End the segmentation of society into permanent “winners” and “losers”;
- Significant increases in social and welfare grants from the cradle to the grave;
- Urgently and publicly evaluate and consider proposals for universal basic income;
- Apply the principle, “…the most vulnerable receive urgent care and can live with dignity and hope…”; and
- Only 46% of South Africans have a running tap in their homes — water is an emergency.
Climate change/environment
- Promote renewable energy;
- Be a global supplier of critical minerals; and
- Set up green industrial parks to become net exporters of electricity.
Crime and corruption
- South Africans live in fear;
- Decentralise crime-fighting to improve safety — introduce more community-level policing;
- Use partnerships effectively;
- Get illegal guns out of the system through dedicated intelligence-driven, specialist firearm units;
- Initiate state/community shared safety plans; and
- Restore and strengthen trusted, targeted and specialised policing units.
Economy
- A Reconstruction and Growth Fund capitalised and ring-fenced outside the fiscus to protect it. Funded by a once-off, three-year temporary reconstruction tax. This will raise R500-billion to fund immediate social protection interventions;
- Funded through a wealth tax of 1.5% a year for three years;
- Corporate income tax increase of 4.2 percentage points for three years (from 28% to 32.2%);
- Tax increase for top earners (more than R1.8-million a year) from 45% to 49.5%;
- A 1%-a-year charge on retirement funds for three years;
- Relentless focus on electricity, logistics and water infrastructure to increase GDP growth to above 2.5%;
- Competition in network industries to increase growth by a further 1%;
- Utilise the private sector for a massive infrastructure investment drive through public-private partnerships; and
- Accelerate investment to 22% of GDP over five years to help create five million jobs and reduce unemployment by 37%.
Education
- Expand early childhood education — only 1.6 million of 11 million children aged o-4 years old are in education programmes. Fix this.
With the 2024 campaign on the horizon, the Change Starts Now movement has laid down a significant marker. It’s a manifesto that challenges the status quo, invites widespread participation, and most importantly, offers hope.