William Gumede’s erudite and persuasive call for social compacts between the government, business and civil society is appealing, but it is doubtful that pacts will have the power to extricate our country from the crisis it finds itself in (“Social pacts more vital than ever as state lacks capacity” (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2021-01-18-william-gumede-social-pacts-more-vital-than-ever-as-state-lacks-capacity/), January 18). Nor, for that matter, would street protests, as called for by your correspondent Cliff Buchler (“Enough of the ANC (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2021-01-18-letter-enough-of-the-anc/)”, January 18). They are rarely fully supported in these Covid-fatigued times.

What SA needs is an active government that can take the right decisions and implement them urgently, confidently and powerfully, without fear or favour or concern for internal party factionalism or mindless electoral push back...

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