But between Cosatu and the ANC, Gear has been a bone of contention since its inception. Workers are having to come to terms with the rigours of the market. And the restraints on spending are being felt in education, welfare and health sectors. In his speech to parliament on 2 September, Jacob Zuma, the deputy president, restated the government's hard-line commitment to Gear. But to many of South Africa's poorest, the strictures of a new-fangled economic policy mean little, even if it does constitute the promise of a new South Africa.
Unemployment is up, and rising all the time.
The dilution of the tripartite alliance marks a big change in South Africa's political future. The first five months of Mbeki's tenure may have rung the knell for the tripartite alliance that supported the liberation struggle for so many decades. Together, the ANC, the South African Communist Party and Cosatu commanded a broad, unified base of black support which now appears to be fragmentating. In mid-August, the government cancelled a summit between the leaders of the three groups, signalling a serious strain in relations. The summit had been billed as a time for Cosatu and the SACP to discuss their misgivings about Gear.