[DEBATE] : (Fwd) SA politics

[Dominic Tweedie]

He said that there would be no surprises, immediately after, i.e. in the
next sentence after, he said that the ANC government would carry out the
policies of the ANC as agreed at Polokwane.

No surprises does not mean no change for South Africa. It means that the
changes were flagged long ago (at least December 2007).

The question then is not ex novo, blank sheet of paper, what do we do now.
Nor is the question about what Thaboite things should be changed. The
question is about applying the Polokwane resolutions in current conditions.
That means that to criticise thoroughly, you need to know your Polokwane.

Domza, VC



2009/4/26 Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za>

> (This is conventional wisdom: "Zuma has done all he can to emphasise that
> there will be no dramatic change, particularly as South Africa faces its
> first recession in 17 years as a result of the global financial crisis and
> cannot afford to discourage investment." A serious journalist might have
> reworded it something like this: "Due to the power of local and
> international financial markets and South Africa's persistent macroeconomic
> instability - mainly due to lack of exchange control protection from
> periodic runs on the currency - Zuma has done all he can to emphasise that
> there will be no dramatic change. This approach will be contested by
> leftwing forces in the Alliance, particularly as South Africa faces its
> first recession in 17 years as a result of the global financial crisis.
> Critics from the SACP and Cosatu have already pointed out that the
> vulnerability to global crisis that SA faces, making it the world's most
> risky emerging market according to The Economist, can be reversed with
> exchange controls and industrial policy, so as to encourage local investment
> given that foreign investors have proven elusive and will be even more so in
> future." So how do we get from conventional wisdom to a more realistic sense
> of political economy?)
>
> Reuters
> No surprises from new government, says Zuma
> 25 April 2009, 19:33
>
>