IN-DEPTH: Gigaba’s to-do list is no blueprint for growth
Finance minister has listened to investors’ concerns, but has not delivered a game changer for the economy, writes Carol Paton
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s "inclusive growth action plan" unveiled on Thursday in Pretoria is a signal that he has heard what investors are saying. The list of 14 points and 45 actions are, with only a few small exceptions, items that have been raised with him in private meetings since he took office. Setting them down in a list with deadlines is Gigaba’s response to show that he has heard them. But the list is no more than that: a list of things the government will do, many of them obviously things that should be done anyway. There are no game-changers or big ideas that could reset the economy on a path for 3% growth. There are no new targets for growth or ambitions of what will be achieved. Gigaba said quite pointedly that whether Treasury growth targets were revised up or down remained an open question, to be decided when the medium-term budget policy statement was tabled in October. In short, the 14-point "inclusive growth action plan" is not a growth plan at all.For those...
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