Zuma has made little progress, says Sacci

President Jacob Zuma had made little progress with crime, security and labour issues in his first 100 days in office, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Friday.

Sacci chief executive Neren Rau said the country had felt the increased belligerence on the part of labour, violence over service delivery and a sharp increase in violent cash-in-transit heists in the period.

Zuma will mark his first 100 days in power tomorrow.

"The level of criminal activity currently experienced is usually associated with the festive season but seems to have been drawn forward, possibly as a consequence of economic hardship," said Rau.

He said the government would be expected to develop an urgent response to the emerging trend over the next weeks.

"The appointment of the new police commissioner and the potential appointment of an operations officer in the police service, coupled with new ministerial leadership, would be expected to yield new, creative approaches to the crime."

Rau said the chamber's assessment of the policy environment in the period leading up to the April elections had provided a sound benchmark for comparison of the developments in Zuma's first 100 days.

He said the annual "strike season" of labour unions had reached record highs this year and had come at a significant cost to the economy if one considered the labour days lost . These factors were substantially harming confidence in the business environment.

Regarding infrastructure, Rau said the rating of this focus area remained "tentative" as business awaited the direct benefits of the infrastructure improvement programmes.

"The new government declared its support for ongoing infrastructure projects and committed itself not only to strengthening existing projects but to extending them to rural communities. These projects include the roads upgrade, Bus Rapid Transport system, construction of houses, schools, and water and sanitation infrastructure," said Rau.

He added that many of these development projects had caused "hardship" to both business and consumers until their completion. Cost pressures in the business environment had been created by the recent adjustments in certain administered prices although these could also be viewed as contributing to the maintenance of infrastructure, which serviced that environment.

"Government's infrastructure programmes and expenditure are crucial in leading the economy through the crisis," said Rau.

Business Report