State, Business and Growth in Post-Apartheid South Africa
This paper explores the relationship between 'state-business relations' (SBRs) and pro-poor growth in South Africa. It provides a history of business organization and the role of the large corporations in facilitating the democratic transition and creating a momentum for the development of post-apartheid tripartite negotiating institutions notably the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). Nedlac, however, failed to live up to its promise as a forum for forging consensual socio-economic policies. We suggest that this was because the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was in an alliance with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and thus could by-pass Nedlac altogether and pursue its labour-market policy objectives directly with the Ministry of Labour. Whilst the Treasury promoted business-friendly policies, the Ministry of Labour promoted pro (organised labour) policies; a policy incoherence which exacerbated the post-apartheid unemployment crisis. This undermined collective action on the part of business - as did subsequent black economic empowerment (BEE) policies which incentivised the emerging black business elite to pursue individual rather than collective agendas with government. This undermined the collective action required for a genuine social accord or tripartite consensus necessary for the emergence of a development coalition for pro-poor (i.e. employment-oriented) growth.
Jeremy Seekings & Nicoli Nattrass. January 2010.
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Last modified: 31 March 2009