1. PRIORITISE SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH

 

• Focus on providing full-on support to advanced manufacturing, helping secure investments in technology, and harnessing the nation's resources to drive innovation and competitiveness in our manufacturing sectors.

• Roll out joint public and private sector-supported infrastructure projects throughout the country, particularly in transportation, energy, water, and digital infrastructure.

• Support local industries, especially those in local manufacturing, agriculture, and value-added production, to create jobs and boost economic resilience.

• To substantially increase the size of the employable workforce, targeted employment programmes with private sector and NGO support and increased avenues for vocational training and skills development must be undertaken.

• Rapidly expand energy generation capacity and use new transformer technology to increase grid capacity immediately to support industrial development. 

 

2. REDUCE THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT AND TACKLE THE NATIONAL DEBT

 

• Government size must be reduced, and wasteful spending must be tackled resolutely so that public service delivery can be considerably improved.

• The public debt has increased to 77% of GDP, crowding out essential government expenditures. The cost of servicing that debt took up 22% of the budget this year and more in the succeeding years, and that is why fiscal consolidation needs to occur so that our country does not become the next Zimbabwe.

• We will cut the size of the executive branch in all spheres of government by 50% and reduce expenditures on government luxuries.

 

3. UNDERTAKE ELECTORAL REFORM

 

• The reform of South Africa’s electoral system is significant, particularly considering the recommendations made by the High-Level Panel on Assessment of Key Legislation and Acceleration of Fundamental Change, chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe. 

• COPE strongly supports the panel’s recommendation that the Electoral Act be amended to provide for an electoral system that makes Members of Parliament (MPs) directly accountable to defined constituencies, thereby fostering a stronger connection between elected representatives and the people they serve. 

• Furthermore, electoral reform will strengthen democratic principles by ensuring citizens’ voices are heard more directly and loudly.

• COPE already has the Electoral Laws Second Amendment Bill (B34 – 2020) in parliament, ready to be released immediately for the public to consider: https://www.parliament.gov.za/bill/2294692

 

4. REFORM MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

 

• Amendments to the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, and the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000, are crucial to enhancing municipal governance in South Africa.

• COPE will seek to formalise the establishment and powers of the Municipal Public Accounts Committees (PACs) to empower its oversight functions considerably so that they can deal with matters that are referred to the Committee by the Council as well as by any councillor, both in respect of what has already transpired and as well as in respect of what is currently in progress as a funded project.

• COPE will introduce amendments to the legislation that address questions around the division of roles between municipalities' executive and legislative arms in the same way that happens at the provincial and national levels. This will ensure a strict separation of powers in local government and empower councillors to hold each executive member directly accountable.

• COPE will introduce amendments to the legislation to impose a two-year prohibition on councillors found guilty of breaching the Code of Conduct for Councillors to enhance ethical behaviour, orderliness, and accountability.

• COPE will introduce amendments to the legislation to clarify the formula for the composition of an executive committee and the need for at least one member of the main opposition to serve on that committee.

• COPE will introduce amendments to the legislation to deal with: - inefficient use of external consultants, Insufficient investment in infrastructure creation, management, and maintenance, ineffective financial planning, failures to implement adequate compliance controls, operating with unfunded budgets and serially failing to provide essential services and keep the area under its jurisdiction cleanly and acceptably.

 

5. INCREASE THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF THE MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY.

 

• Create 2 million decent jobs and improve family incomes through re-industrialisation and robust economic growth in 5 years.

• By 2035, 5 million households will be lifted out of the poverty trap, and state dependency on them will be significantly reduced so they can live dignity-filled lives.

• Introduce family self-reliance and social cohesion programmes for sustainable living and stable communities.

 

6. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND REDISTRIBUTION.

 

• Discard unworkable economic policies and implement viable, inclusive, growth-oriented, and responsible programmes guided by equity, empowerment, transformation, and development principles.

• Confront and eradicate the scourges of poverty, unemployment, inequality, and corruption to eradicate them, by all means necessary.

• Build a viable patriotic social compact to balance economic growth and redistribution, recognise constraints of fiscal and institutional capacities, and the persistence of structural and systemic inequalities and injustices.

 

7. TOWNSHIP AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

 

• Over five years, ring-fence and invest R750 billion, at R150 billion per year, for township and rural reconstruction, development, and economic growth. It makes economic sense.

• Reverse the legacy of apartheid’s spatial architecture, stop urban sprawl, work towards more balanced urban development, and resolve the land impasse to improve rural living conditions.

• Create enabling environments for business developments in townships and rural communities and integrate with existing economic nodes.

 

8. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

 

• COPE proposes to amend the Skills Development Levies Act (No. 9 of 1999) to allow employers to utilise the fund for training interns to a given level by explicitly including provisions in the Act allowing employers to allocate a portion of the skills development levy fund specifically for training interns, who qualify for training support, under the types of training programs eligible for funding.

• Labour market reforms, new labour-absorptive policies, and government portals that promote full-time and part-time work, internships, and temporary employment can reduce the current youth unemployment rate by 50%.

• Declare a national state of disaster to mobilise public and private sector resources and capacities to respond to the youth unemployment disaster.

• Harmonise and harness existing youth skills development programmes in the public and private sectors to revolutionise technology access and usage and accelerate the fourth Industrial technology economy.

 

9. STRENGTHEN ACCOUNTABILITY AND PROFESIONALISE THE STATE.

 

• Amend the constitution so voters can directly elect the President, Premiers, and Mayors, and power will be returned to the people.

• Strengthen the induction of all public representatives and public servants on the imperatives of the constitution and the rule of law and immediately dismiss those who violate their Oath of Office. 

• Rebuild state professionalism and capacity and strengthen the accountability mechanism through technology usage and public access to monitoring and evaluation systems for public representatives.

 

10. FIGHT CRIME AND END CORRUPTION.

 

• COPE will strengthen the rule of law to curb lawlessness pervasive in almost all areas of society. This should start in the ranks of law enforcement agencies where National Police Commissioners do not finish their terms of office due to allegations of corruption.

• Rebuild community policing and strengthen trust and cooperation between communities and law enforcement agencies. Significantly improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies and immediately dismiss all officers implicated in crime and corruption. 

• Remove all bail provisions for corruption-accused persons, bring back the Scorpions, strengthen specialised courts, and confiscate all assets linked to corruption convicts. Review and reinforce their incarceration conditions.

• Remove all bail provisions for accused persons on GBV, murder, and serious crimes. Review and reinforce minimum sentences for these categories of crimes. Review and reinforce their incarceration conditions.

 

Let’s Build Prosperity For All!

#Time4Change