Reform should top the new government’s agenda, says IRR. [Picture: Rauf Ismikhan/Shutterstock]
The government of national unity (GNU) must take advantage of the wide support it enjoys and introduce reforms without delay. That is the message from the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR), which released its latest report on Tuesday.
“We have the basis of hope. We have the foundations of opportunity for the GNU and of unity for the country, and we have the common ground necessary to bring reform; to bring choice and unlock growth” said Hermann Pretorius, political analyst and head of strategic communications at IRR.
The report, ‘#WhatSACanBe: Hope, Opportunity, Unity, and Common Ground’ shed light on how South Africans viewed the ANC-led coalition government.
It also outlined key issues that the new administration would do well to prioritise: unemployment, gender-based violence, crime and corruption, among others.
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Drop race-based policies
One of the key insights emerging from polling data contained in the report was that race-based policies were not as favoured as those focused on merit, at least among most South Africans.
“The divisions of race no longer determine the policy solutions of the future, if that ever was the case. We see a socio-economic aspiration overlap that is remarkable. And that is also weighted in favour of a choice-driven policy framework,” said Pretorius.
More than half – 53% – of respondents agreed that merit should determine who gets appointed to a job, although previously disadvantaged groups should be offered special training. A further 23% believed in merit alone.
Just 11% wanted only Black people to be appointed until everyone employed aligned with the country’s racial makeup.
“We often hear that affirmative action and BEE policies are here to address the inequalities of the past, but they have failed and the people have lost patience. We do not need to see further BEE policies and affirmative policies and affirmative action policies,” he continued.
He recommended that the government look towards empowerment through a voucher system, instead of forcing its hand in the affairs of the market. For example, parents should be given vouchers that can be redeemed for their child’s education, giving them choices.
“South Africans deserve and desire government policy that reflects an opportunity-based society rather than a state-based society that sees as subjects with interests rather than as citizens with aspirations,” he asserted.
