Labour minister Mildred Oliphant is hardly a paragon of confidence. But she weighed into the jobs summit with huge expectations and said that “we dare not fail them”, referring to the unemployed. During election campaigns and for the 2010 World Cup, T-shirts were imported from China by the ANC, without regard for local business. SA wants the US’s help with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) so that our chickens can be exported tariff free, but President Cyril Ramaphosa says: “This is the time to put SA first, but it’s not going to be in an arrogant way like elsewhere.” Although there has been plenty of talk and no action, the ANC elocution still flows smoothly. For example: “The implementation and progress of the framework would be monitored by a presidential jobs committee and the brains trust.” There is more: “Government and business would establish a rapid response team to assist struggling businesses to avoid retrenchments.” The government cannot dispatch ambulances q...

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