The DA took a number of resolutions at the National Congress which took place in Pretoria earlier in April. The Kouga Democrat will he highlighting some of the policies.
On access to jobs, a DA National Government would assist young disadvantaged South Africans in finding work by:
- Introducing a Jobseekers’ Allowance with a timeframe for all unemployed young people aged 18-34 who do not have a job;
- Rolling out a national Job Centres project – known as the Khuphuka Centres – where unemployed people can access job opportunities (including learnerships and apprenticeships) on a local database, get assistance in preparing job applications or receive employment counselling;
- Introducing a National Civilian Service year to provide work experience for the approximately 78 443 unemployed matriculants – from the class of 2016 alone – to enter into work-based training in the community healthcare, basic education or SAPS fields; and
- Expanding the Expanded Public Works Programme and giving more people access to these opportunities by making the system fairer and more transparent.
- Develop a basket of incentives, across multiple sectors, to encourage industries to take up more labour-intensive production practices. Such incentives could include, among others, rewarding those businesses who increase their staff components with BBB-EE points or corporate tax cuts/rebates per worker.
On the positioning of cities as the primary drivers of economic growth, the DA resolved that:
- South Africa’s national economic growth agenda must be aimed at strengthening the competency and capabilities of local governments to drive growth and job creation;
- South Africa should simultaneously decentralise public finances and stimulate regional competition by giving local councils a share of revenues generated through corporate taxes of local businesses;
- Skills development must be aligned to the needs of local economies; and
- Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is to be utilised as a tool to encourage investment to secondary cities.
In order to foster job-creation, we resolved to unleash South Africa’s entrepreneurial potential by:
- Introducing an overtly pro-small business policy approach which removes blockages and red-tape in the political/economic system, particularly targeting those sectors which our country has either a comparative or competitive advantage in, and crucially, those which are also labour absorptive;
- Exempting small businesses from certain labour and BEE laws to help them compete and create jobs;
- Implementing a Tax Amnesty for small businesses and working with all arms of government to decrease the time it takes to pay its debts, with a goal of bringing this period down to 30 days;
- Providing funding assistance for small businesses totalling over R1.5 billion; and
- Expanding support and incentives for youth, informal sector businesses and cooperatives to grow and hire more employees.
Tags: DA economic policy
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