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The business-government partnership is at risk of losing credibility and legitimacy as it moves to the third phase.During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses stepped in to assist the government with the rollout of the vaccine and to disburse relief to workers laid off during the crisis.Simultaneously, they worked on a plan to help the economy to quickly rebound. This was less successful.When Covid-19 ended, business stepped up again to assist with the three impediments to economic growth: load-shedding, a broken freight logistics system and crime and corruption.Load-shedding has paused, but progress on the other two crises is slower than hoped. However, the Madlanga commission — probing corruption in the criminal justice system — appears to be making a difference in the fight against corruption.A week ago, the two partners launched phase three of their partnership. This time they are targeting growth and fixing Joburg, South Africa’s commercial capital. The partnership expands into other sectors, including mining, tourism and agriculture.Few can question the spirit of the partnership. When the house is on fire, it would be criminal for those with buckets of water to sit by and do nothing to put out the fire. Covid-19, load-shedding and the collapse of the freight logistics system aptly fit into that category.However, the partnership is now at risk of losing legitimacy because of its exclusionary nature. It excludes, for example, black businesses, labour and communities.Ministers are resentful about what they see as an encroachment on their constitutional mandates. Their co-operation is reluctant. Every so often, captains of industry have to call on the president to intervene to secure co-operation from his cabinet.To be fair to business, however, the bilateral partnership has a long history. The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) has been an ineffectual forum. Its last significant achievement was the national minimum wage during Jacob Zuma’s administration.It failed to produce an agreement on the social compact. It failed, too, to process numerous amendments to labour laws. Out of frustration, business has approached courts about some of these laws.A year ago, Nedlac was given a hospital pass to provide secretariat to the National Dialogue, which doesn’t have an agreed budget or programme.Nedlac has become a forum for proxy wars between its various constituencies. It’s hardly surprising that the business didn’t trust it to even provide a basic project management facility to its partnership with government. Worse, it couldn’t be relied on to manage conflicts between business, labour and government.By-passing Nedlac undermines its statutory role. The government is complicit in killing Nedlac.It could be argued that the business-government partnership isn’t a policymaking structure. That may be so, but the decisions made within the partnership are consequential and have wider implications for the rest of society.While it is its right to talk to whoever it wants, businesses cannot afford to be seen to buy influence with their money. This will erode the partnership’s credibility and undermine the business’s role as a force for good.It is not too late to make the partnership inclusive. Fixing Eskom — a work in progress — was an emergency, as is fixing Transnet and ending crime and corruption.However, growth requires a broader partnership of stakeholders beyond government and business. The new sectors involve host communities, black businesses and strong labour unions.It’s hard to think that the success of these sectors can happen without the involvement of labour and communities.Business Day
