how successful was the new growth path in influencing economic growth and development in South Africa
Answers
The New Growth Path targets 300 000 additional direct jobs by 2020 to green the economy, with 80 000 in manufacturing and the rest in construction, operations and maintenance of new environmentally friendly infrastructure. The potential for job creation rises to well over 400 000
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Answer:
The New Growth Path released by the Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel in December 2010, has set job creation as a country priority, aimed at reducing unemployment by 10 percentage points by 2020, down from the current rate of 25 per cent.
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel economics laureate and recipient of the ILO Decent Work Prize, commented these adverse positions as “inevitable” for an emerging economy striving for a durable developmental path. "I believe that it [the New Growth Path] correctly puts employment (in the vocabulary of the International Labour Organization, ‘decent work’) at its centre. It seeks to build a long-term foundation for a vibrant society, in contrast to the short-termism of unregulated markets, made so evident in the recent crisis," he said.
The New Growth Path has fixed six priority areas to job creation: infrastructure development, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, the "green" economy and tourism. "There are many dimensions to a successful growth strategy that are reflected in the New Growth Path. Some involve direct government actions — investing in economic infrastructure that will earn future returns and tax revenue — but many entail simply setting the rules of the game”, Stiglitz said.
The job creation programme has met some opposition from both business and labour representatives, who claim the programme lacks the concrete measures required to fight soaring unemployment and create decent jobs. While employers complained about too much state intervention, unions rejected a possible wage freeze in the private sector.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called for a revision of the New Growth Path to include public healthcare and education and expand training opportunities. "The only mention is that the public service can generate 100’000 jobs in health, education and policing by 2020. This [the New Growth Path] underestimates the role of the public sector," Cosatu statement issued in December 2010 read.
The debate about whether South Africa needs jobs or decent work has been going on for a long time. Labour brokering, systemic unemployment, especially among the young people, labour laws loopholes, vulnerable workers and working poor are just a few of the problems the country had to tackle even before the 2008 crisis hit.
The ILO and its South African constituents are currently reviewing policy options for an integrated application of the Global Jobs Pact. Bulgaria, El Salvador, Indonesia, Jordan, and Mongolia have also requested ILO support for this approach.