‘The first Codesa (Convention for a Democratic SA) brought all our political adversaries together to thrash out one of the world’s most intractable political problems. We proved ourselves capable of reaching a national consensus on the way out of that deeply entrenched conflict, which some considered to be miraculous. So, seeing we have that capability, why not do it again? Let’s have a Codesa 2 to reach another collective decision on how to deal with our tough economic problem’.
‘The basic platform for such a national convention is already in place in the National Planning Commission’.
View or download the article by Allister Sparks, a veteran journalist and political analyst, appearing for the first time in Business Day today – Time to look seriously at the idea of an Economic Codesa
Business Day has kindly consented to the use of some extracts.
The country is already suffering from study-group fatigue, not to say cynicism, and I doubt whether a report from one more government commission is going to meet with the kind of national acceptance required. Those who feel they have not been part of the planning will reject it.
That is why the process must include all sectors of the economic community.
As with the original Codesa, these delegates should be assigned to specific working groups, each led by members of the commission and each focusing on key sectors of the economy — such as mining, land redistribution and rural development, the manufacturing sector, labour regulations, the possible establishment of special development zones in depressed areas, and above all unemployment, especially youth unemployment, skills training and apprenticeships.
All working groups could then come together in a plenary session aimed at blending the proposals into a comprehensive report, which could hopefully be presented to the Zuma administration as a nationally accepted policy package.