QUESTION TIME

PATRICK VAN RENSBURG | Friday September 7, 2007 00:00

It had been, to some extent, a follow-up to the column of the previous week also entitled An Appropriate human resources development (HRD) Strategy, 'which had taken note of the impressive development initiatives of Mauritius education, training, production and trade .

One of the basic thrusts of my lost column, however, had to do with a reported 'poor performance of the manufacturing sector in dragging down growth 'in South Africa, according to figures recently released by Statistics SA on August 29.

This development, inadequate developments there, rather, led me to suggest that our membership of the Customs Union with South Africa created opportunities for us to promote the manufacturing sector more dynamically, with the emphasis on diversification, and export within the customs union, more especially to South Africa.

I noted, what seemed to me, a lack of initiative by our Government in promoting diversified manufacturing that would be reliant on the public sector as well as on the private sector, NGOs and COOPS.

Part of this lack of initiative, has, I suggested, been to do with an almost total commitment to the private sector and capitalist enterprises. This preoccupation with capitalist practice has also excluded the development of the cooperative sector. The recent policy proposals on cooperatives is welcome, but it must ensure greater involvement, and participation, of the state in active support of industrialisation on small, medium and large scales, depending, on capacity namely capital, skills and resources.
Education and training could be provided by greater diversification of opportunities for multiple skill development not only in the technical colleges but by giving back to BRIGADES the role which they played with a good measure of success in diversified production linked to training. In this respect, I noted, too the remarkable initiatives of Mauritius in promoting manufacturing through targeted investment and related education and training that involved highlighting production.

We seem to rely excessively on questionable foreign direct investment which is presently unlikely to meet the current demand for job-creation.

Much of this FDI goes into Stock Exchange. Job-creation requires a coordinated strategy of cooperation between the state (or public sector), the private sector and a potentially valuable cooperative sector. This should involve the BDC and other parastatals.I have, in the past, recommended an Agricultural Development Corporation for all aspects of this (developmental)  namely, crop and vegetable output, livestock and afforestation, and  related processing.

At present, Government is trying to involve unemployed youngsters in agricultural production without having adequately trained them. Not so long ago, I argued that to make such a proportion successful, we should have made agriculture and or one or more technical subjects, obligatory to every students curriculum, with appropriate adjustments for males and females.

Two weeks ago, I quoted an ILO paper on the elements of a Human Resources Development Strategy that needs to be addressed to promote demand foe skills.
These are: (i) to create incentives for partnership between employers, trade unions, civil and other local oraganisations; (ii) improving the capacity and skills of workplace trainers, and assessors; (iii) extending the role of licences to include practice in labour markets; (iv) reforming investment conditions and the capital market; (v) reforming (corporate) law, and (vi) developing strategic conditions for attracting foreign investment. We need also to develop strategic condition to attract local investment by Batswana, by the way.

One way to improve labour output maybe ensure to better earnings foe workers with special rewards for increased output of greater quality. Employers and employees might contribute to life policies, the investments on which will come from both employers and employees, in affordable inputs from each.

Sugar was to Mauritius what diamonds are to us here. The Mauritius Government set-up Export Processing zones (EPZ). This created a substantial demand for both skilled and semi-skilled labour. 

If South Africa's manufacturing sector has failed, there must be many artisans and other skilled workers whom a manufacturing sector here could search for to employ in a jacked-up manufacturing sector here. Government would have to be much more heavily involved in the developing of diversified manufacturing here, than it is now.

We also need, in the opposition parties, informed spokesmen on such issues as production and the different elements involved in it, namely capital, skilled labour and management, who can address the nation on these issues, who can establish communications with capital, as well as with labour, and who can enlighten civil servants on production.