Use tactics of past - Fransman

INLSA

Marius Fransman and Provincial Secretary of ANC Songezo Mjongile brief the press at Provincial Legislature on the proposal for the ANC National Policy Conference in Bloemfontein. Photo: Tracey Adams

ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman has called for the government to consider a return to an interventionist policy similar to that which gave control of the economy to Afrikaners, but this time aimed at ensuring transformation to empower the black population.

This would have to be managed within constitutional limits, he said.

“Some things worked for Afrikaners, like Viskor (the fisheries development corporation) and rural agriculture corporations. What I’m saying is that some of those instruments worked (to achieve socio-economic transformation) and can be used now. When the ANC came into power in 1994 we removed all these things,” he said.

Fransman was speaking at a press conference on Thursday ahead of the party’s national policy conference in Midrand next week.

Provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile concurred with Fransman’s proposal and said: “The model to redistribute the wealth of the country is not working - very few benefit and inequality is increasing.

“But the question is, what model do we come up with to solve the problems?”

The Western Cape ANC proposes bringing back financial institutions to help the marine and fishing industry, SMMEs and agriculture.

At the press conference on Thursday, the party called for a mixed economy, with stronger state intervention and ownership of strategic sectors, but not necessarily nationalisation.

The Western Cape branch wants the electoral system to stay the same, saying a single election for all levels of government would be too cumbersome. On ownership of land, the Western Cape branch believes that share schemes should be revised “as it does not aid true land reform”. - Cape Argus