Government and business have recommitted to working together to resolve some of South Africa’s most pressing challenges.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa, together with members of his Cabinet, held a meeting with senior business leaders and technical experts from government and business to discuss a new era of collaboration for a partnership launched over a year ago to address barriers to growth in South Africa.
President Ramaphosa said since last year when the partnership was established, much progress has been recorded in key areas, including electricity and rail and ports.
“The Government of National Unity has reaffirmed its commitment to urgently implement the reform agenda started by the sixth administration, and to restore confidence and sentiment -- essential drivers of investment, inclusive economic growth, and job creation.
“We have reaffirmed our commitment to a dynamic partnership between government and business to foster South Africa's economic growth and social advancement. Since the start of the partnership just over a year ago, we have made substantial progress towards stabilising the energy sector, improving the performance of our rail and port systems, and strengthening the fight against crime and corruption,” the President said.
The President expressed optimism that in partnership, government and business can navigate the country’s most pressing challenges successfully.
“As we move forward with this partnership, we will intensify our work to address these pressing issues and expand our efforts to drive employment creation. We know that the challenges ahead are formidable. But with our continued partnership, we are well equipped to navigate these complexities and contribute to sustainable growth for South Africa," said President Ramaphosa.
Chair of the Business for South Africa (B4SA) Steering Committee, Martin Kingston, said: “This is a model of collaboration that has shown its merit and is fit for purpose to drive accelerated growth and jobs in the seventh administration.
"Over the last year, significant progress has been made and impact has been achieved. While it has not been as swift or extensive as we would have liked, it has gifted us with a blueprint for success in a new era with the GNU. We are keen that the reforms are implemented with urgency. We are very optimistic about the next phase of the partnership.”
Co-convenor of the business delegation, Adrian Gore, said he expects that continued momentum in the partnership will bring the desired level of economic growth needed in South Africa.
“We welcome President Ramaphosa’s commitment to a new era of partnership at a critical inflection point for the country. In the first phase of our partnership, over 130 CEOs pledged support and business invested more than R260 million and mobilised over 350 experts across the three focal areas.
“This has contributed to the excellent progress made, with the reduction in load shedding being the most visible and pronounced achievement. Continued momentum could mean we are able to achieve 3% - 5% GDP growth by 2030. We will be launching Phase 2 of our partnership with this ambition in mind,” Gore said. – SAnews.gov.za
