There’s not much in the ANC’s recent history to encourage the view that the likely objective of radical economic transformation is to prise control of the economy out of white hands and place it in black hands, to be used to enhance the well-being of all South Africans.
More likely the objective is to replace whites in "white monopoly capital" with blacks, making it "black monopoly capital".
If the ANC is really interested in radical economic transformation it need look no further than the British Conservative Party. It’s not the most obvious source of radical ideas, but if you’re looking for radical ideas that stand a chance of being implemented, a few of the items on that party’s to-do list are worth considering.
Of course there are reasons for rejecting something just because it’s part of a Conservative Party agenda and we should not embrace anything wholeheartedly from a foreign entity, let alone from the party that led the UK through much of its colonial era.
The world’s oldest party may have something radical to teach one of the world’s youngest
But it might be time to acknowledge that the world’s oldest party has something radical to teach one of the youngest governing political parties.
Theresa May’s party is trying to do what few parties have succeeded in doing: rein in shareholder capitalism (lazily referred to as "white monopoly capital" by the ANC) and try to make it work for more people.
There are many, especially in SA, who may feel shareholder capitalism has not delivered for the majority, and will never deliver, and so should be scrapped. The drivers behind the ANC’s radical economic transformation agenda are probably not among these people.
They probably also don’t share May’s desire to tame the capitalist beast. They merely want to appropriate more of the value it generates.
Why is it that during 23 years in power the ANC never once engaged on the issue of executive pay, other than through occasional asides by politicians on the make? Former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan did have a stab at executive pay in state-owned enterprises (SOE). It was a tepid affair and nothing came of it. Of course nothing could come of it. SOEs were needed to provide a bounty to ANC loyalists willing to divert huge resources to the chosen few.
But imagine what a powerful example it would have been if SOEs had undertaken to pay only modestly generous remuneration packages to its executives.
If the ANC really did want to strike at the heart of "white monopoly capital" this is where it should be targeting the blow.
In the UK, executive pay and unaccountable boards are the primary target of a plan by a parliamentary committee that wants director accountability, more diversity and the appointment of workers to boards.
Another truly radical step towards economic transformation would be for government to force 30-day payment terms. This is part of the UK’s Labour Party manifesto. Guess why the ANC government can’t consider it?
All they’ve left are radical-sounding slogans.
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