ANC wants members and partners to comment on Tito Mboweni's paper

The ANC top brass wants the party’s branches to submit contributions to finance minister Tito Mboweni’s paper on economic development.

Mboweni raised a lot of eyebrows in the ANC when the National Treasury issued the paper, titled Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa.

Alliance partner Cosatu even went as far as calling for Mboweni to withdraw the paper and rather send it to the National Economic and Development Labour Council (Nedlac) for discussion.

However, following a meeting with the ANC's top six leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, the party called on its members and alliance partners to make submissions on the paper.

In a statement on Tuesday, party spokesperson Pule Mabe said the meeting resolved that the alliance should be "engaged and allowed to make comments" on the discussion paper.

The process will be led by the party’s economic transformation committee through chairperson Enoch Godongwana, who will be helped by NEC member Andries Nel.

“The meeting agreed that the ANC alliance should also be allowed to discuss this discussion paper within their structures.

“The national officials resolved that the next meeting of the NEC would table the matter for discussion and consider all inputs as stated above,” said Mabe.

He said the party’s top brass wanted the alliance, civil society and the business community, among others, to make inputs on Mboweni’s paper.

“Parallel to the ANC process, the national government will continue with its process as originators of the discussion paper,” he said.