NEDLAC'S ROLE IN ACHIEVING A SHARED ECONOMIC VISION

4 April 1996

Over the last couple of weeks, the South African Foundation and the labour constituency in Nedlac-represented by Cosatu, Nactu and Fedsal-released important documents which mainly outline their respective visions for accelerating economic growth, creating employment, and achieving social equity in South Africa. Before the release of these documents, deputy President Thabo Mbeki outlined government's vision for a national growth and development strategy in an address to an Intergovernmental Forum meeting in Cape Town at the end of February. The community constituency in Nedlac is also in the process of finalising a document which primarily examines its role in Nedlac, but which also puts emphasis on job creation, the development of human resources, infrastructure development, et cetera.

The questions now being asked are how the multitude of ideas raised in these documents will influence and, finally, shape the South African economic agenda during 1996 and beyond, how and where these ideas will be debated, and what Nedlac's role in all this is. Many of the issues addressed in these documents are already on the Nedlac agenda-such as the need to abolish exchange controls, supply-side measures, tariff policy, employment standards, job creation and public-works programmes-but they remain to be accommodated in a comprehensive, focused agenda aimed at promoting economic growth, creating jobs, and achieving social equity.

Nedlac's social partners have identified the need for an overarching framework within which consensus on these ideas can be reached as vitally important. In order to address this need, the Nedlac secretariat in October 1995 released a discussion document aimed at stimulating the vigorous discussion then, and still, underway on a strategic vision and framework for social partnership in Nedlac. It was pointed out at the time of the release of this document that Nedlac's four constituencies would develop their respective inputs into and responses to this discussion document, whereafter a framework for agreement-making and social partnership in Nedlac would be developed.

The following reflects the current status of these inputs:

• Labour: The document called "Social equity and job creation: the key to a stable future", released on 1 April, will form the basis of Cosatu, Nactu and Fedsal's input into the Nedlac process.
• Business: This constituency is in the last stages of finalising its input.
• Community: A first draft of its input has been forwarded to the Nedlac secretariat, and will soon be finalised.
• Government: The national growth and development strategy, which is expected to be finalised this month, will form the basis of its input.

With these documents soon to be tabled formally in Nedlac, the Nedlac Executive Council meeting on 25 April will decide on a process for their consideration by the Nedlac social partners.

Consensus among the Nedlac social partners on how to tackle the main economic challenges to our society has become crucial to Nedlac's ongoing contribution to the economic development of our country. The social partners have on various occasions emphasised their commitment to seeking consensus on the way in which South Africa's economic challenges should be tackled. Such consensus has to lead to the formulation of a shared vision which must affirm the hopes, or allay the fears, of the larger community which the Nedlac constituencies serve.