Need to look at new solutions

IN response to Mkhuseli Jack's article, "Govt fails the unemployed" (May 12), I agree that "the escalation of social grants is a definite symptom of a decaying society" and "government must pride itself on jobs that employ our people in decent and long term employments". Where I disagree with Jack is about his solutions to the employment issue.

He recently mentioned in a business conference that "for the country to grow economically, it needed direct foreign investment".

First, it still relates the country's development to an elusive "growth" (of GDP) that depends on many factors which cannot be controlled nationally (including the foreign direct investment). Second, it assumes "growth" is limitless despite it depending on the limited planetary resources.

Third, it de facto dismisses all the growth externalised costs (environmental damage and labour servitude) and "collateral damages" of the system's cruel competition. Fourth, this theory also overlooks the fact that such centralised "growth development" does create inequality as it creates profits for a minority and peanuts for the rest.

Fifth, this also disregards the fact that "growth's development" does not relate at all to "decent" (see mine employment) and "long term employment" (see numerous economic crises).

It would be so useful if we started questioning old scripts and looked for solutions that are innovative and outside of the status quo, that really create "decent and long term" jobs, while taking care of the above mentioned "collateral" damages.

These are solutions that are good for all and not for a minority. Why not therefore debate about a "real localisation from the bottom up" that would most certainly resolve all the above?

PL Lemercier, Port Elizabeth