Economic Policy
The South African economy has been thought to have performed reasonably well in the past decade if you view the country as a First World centrist economy. Unfortunately South Africa is not a First World centrist economy, but rather a mix of First World and Third World socio-economic realities, like a strong market-driven sector and a large jobless and poor sector.
   Therefore, to treat SA as a purely First World economy is advantageous to established business in the short term, but is disastrous to the bulk of the people. And saying that you are running the economy to include all the people, like present government claims, but you are not doing so, is equally if not more shameful and detrimental to all.
   An SABP Government would adjust various macro-economic relations in order to simultaneously stimulate business trade and creation of jobs, leading to improved return on investment for shareholders and more money in the pocket of the poor and previously jobless.
   The tax system must be simplified. A too-complex system like the present one hinders people getting into and remaining in business.
   Capital Gains Tax should be scrapped. Just because many countries utilise this means of taxation does not mean that South Africa had to follow suit. CGT is a waste of energy, taxpayers money (to implement and run) and is suspected as not even breaking even if all associated expenses are brought to bear on income generated. Such a system has no right to exist.
   Skills Development Levy (SDL) on salaries has been scrapped for smaller businesses (with total salary/wage bill under R500 000 in any 12-month period) and not a moment too soon. It was a bad idea from the beginning, unnecessarily burdening small business and discouraging new entrepreneurs.
   Pay-As-You-Earn tax (PAYE), Corporate Tax and Value-Added-Tax (VAT) are currently functioning effectively and at reasonable levels, with the exception of Corporate Tax which could be lower, such as in the region of 17 - 20%.
   Such a drop, coupled with a new worker tax incentive ("NEWTI") would go a long way to reducing joblessness among the people. With extra capital available for expansion of product / service lines, markets and sales, companies could appoint additional workers to their workforce to perform the extra tasks required. This would be especially attractive if, for every year a new worker is contracted, the company may deduct a percentage of the worker's annual earnings (over and above the actual earnings paid) from income, provided that the worker completes the full year in question. This is the essence of the proposed NEWTI scheme, simultaneously reducing joblessness and boosting profits. NEWTI would also have the effect of automatically encouraging skill development, businesses striving to retain workers and workers giving of their best to such a good opportunity to work and to regain appointment in each succeeding year. This would lead to a collegial manner of business dealing with workers, increasing appreciation by both parties of the work relationship, reducing the unproductive burden imposed by current employment legislation, and freeing up the workforce to engage in true career development instead of being subjected to the demoralising and individually disempowering processes of the trade unions.
   The public sector is overstaffed and overpaid. Surplus workers in the public sector must be retrenched and offered business planning facilities, micro-loans and the like in order to help them establish suitable private enterprises. Such small businesses will in turn take up more of the jobless as co-workers. Remaining public sector workers' salaries / packages should be reduced to reflect market-related realities. With fewer public servants to pay, taxes may then be reduced as suggested above, with perhaps even Trust and PAYE top rates being lowered to less punitive levels.
   Governmental micro-loans for small business should be extended to all possible applicants country-wide. This would go a long way to reducing joblessness and crime.
   The current Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) system should be scrapped in its entirety. It is another unnecessary interference and burden on small business, to deduct, to pay and to further administer. UIF should be scrapped for smaller businesses with a total contracted workforce of 50 or less workers. For larger businesses, worker contracts for a year or more should include a goodwill component payable directly to the worker if the worker is fired, retrenched or otherwise rendered jobless, after a year of service has expired. Businesses could benefit from the reduced risk and admin associated with taking on workers under such a new dispensation, and could welcome the possible risk of needing to pay out 75%, 67%, 50%, 33%, and 25% in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th month following a dismissal or retrenchment. Resigning / absconding workers receive no compensation. (Currently even absconding employees get the CCMA to squeeze "compensation" out of small business owners for employees who left of their own accord! This is extortion and corruption, and should be stopped.)
   Without UIF unnecessarily encumbering small business, many more entrepreneurs will be prepared and inclined to enter and remain in business, thus providing many more jobs for the jobless.
   A job without insurance to a jobless person is better than no job with insurance.
   The funds exist at different levels of government to finance house-building for most SA families in need. What the present government cannot achieve is to institute, coordinate, manage and implement an overall scheme of infrastructure, planning, building and hand-over of housing units to all needy families, after which service fees should be properly billed and paid by residents. The SABP has experience in this field having built, connected and payment-monitored over 1500 permanent affordable housing units of superior quality throughout Soweto and Seshego (Polokwane) over a period of some 4 years. This capability will be replicated to thousands of local situations throughout South Africa when the SABP comes to power, effectively sorting out the housing backlog in a matter of 6 to 7 years. This process will create about 900 000 new jobs and will propel our country into a new era of unprecedented economic activity involving, contractors, workers, suppliers, etc. We estimate that some 600 000 of these jobs have the potential of remaining indefinitely as a part of a structural change in the country's industrial mix. The end-result of properly housed people will also go a long way to helping workers and potential workers to be better equipped materially and emotionally to seek and secure work.
   The SABP has a hands-on approach when tackling practical issues and it will work within the various socio-economic contexts around the country to bring about actual and overall change for the economic benefit of all. Every problem has a solution; the problem is not doing anything about it; the SABP has a track record of solving real socio-economic problems. An example is the housing achievement mentioned above. Another example has been the Members of the SABP national executive influencing the Soweto City Council in person to change their policy on granting ownership certificates to the people in 1987. The Members resolved an impasse which resulted in tens of thousands of Soweto residents being able to continue purchasing their houses from the council. At that time we had petitions of many thousands of signatures from Soweto residents with a support base of some 20 000 people from the whole of Soweto, from Emdeni to Diepkloof and from Meadowlands to Klipspruit.
   We are committed to the eradication of poverty, joblessness and homelessness, and we believe we can manage it with your help. We are people who like seeing results and who enjoy seeing others happy and able to have the self-pride of owning their own home, running their own business or enjoying a good job. We do not want all the money for ourselves. We just want a good pay, like you want, and we believe any extra should be used properly to benefit all.
   The problem with the present government, is that it is composed of too many people who think they know politics, and not of enough businesspeople who know politics. The SABP provides that new generation of politician who can solve problems and who does.