Instead of kowtowing to government, business should insist the state steps out of the way and ceases its adoption of bad laws and policies that inhibit economic freedom and growth.

This is according to the Free Market Foundation, which on Wednesday cautioned the business community against partnering with government to fix the latter’s failures.

On Tuesday, the presidency, along with lobby groups Business for South Africa and Business Unity South Africa, announced a “partnership initiative” between government and some big business to address some of South Africa’s most urgent problems in three “priority workstreams”: energy, transport and logistics, and crime and corruption.

“The true solutions to South Africa’s energy and transport and logistics problems must necessarily include the full or partial privatisation of Eskom and Transnet, alongside widespread liberalisation of these sectors,” said Free Market Foundation CEO David Ansara.

“The root of corruption is the wide discretionary powers that parliament grants the executive in legislation. This practice needs to cease,” he said.

On the same day that government met with organised business, the foundation and dozens of other civil groups and business chambers met to consider the state’s “draconian” Employment Equity Amendment Act and its associated regulations.

“This latest race law represents the greatest instance of attempted racial regimentation of the economy in at least four decades,” the foundation said.

‘Social engineering’

At Tuesday’s workshop, organised by trade union Solidarity, participating organisations resolved that “a system of social engineering that gives power to the minister of labour and employment to manipulate South African society on the basis of race” is to be rejected.

“Organised business cannot truly believe a government engaged in this kind of hostile overregulation of the economy and society is committed, in good faith, to addressing South Africa’s economic malaise,” the Free Market Foundation said.

Read: Deputy president firmly rules out privatisation of Eskom

Martin van Staden, the foundation’s head of policy, added: “The palliative solutions proposed by the ‘partnership initiative’ do not address the cause of South Africa’s economic crisis, which is an uninhibited government seeking to implement political control over the private sector.” — © 2023 NewsCentral Media