Photo: The Bulrushes
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on businesses to invest in South Africa as the country rebuilds after state capture, corruption and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ramphosa addressed the fourth South African Investment Conference (SAIC) in Sandton on Thursday.
The president committed to raising over R1.2 trillion worth of investments in five years to boost economic growth and stimulate employment.
To date R774 billion has been pledged, two-thirds of the goal which have been spread across mining, manufacturing, agriculture, the digital economy and other sectors.
Ramaphosa assured investors that the country is on the road to recovery after two years of difficult economic conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president said businesses have closed and families across the nation have suffered great hardship.
“But it could have been far worse. Had we not acted swiftly to contain transmission and strengthen our health facilities, many more people would have gotten ill and many more lives would have been lost. Had we not introduced an unprecedented social and economic relief package, many more businesses would have closed, many more jobs would have been lost and many more people would have gone hungry.”
“Not only did these measures provide vital support to those most affected by the pandemic, they also established a foundation for the recovery of our economy,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa told investors that after a decade of state capture, South Africa is confronting corruption and criminality, and that it is rebuilding its law enforcement agencies and strengthening the capacity of the state.
Ramaphosa also addressed the electricity crisis and the exacerbated load shedding imposed on South Africans by the Dark Lords at Megawatt Park.
“No economy can operate without a reliable supply of electricity. That is why we have undertaken the most extensive transformation of our energy sector in nearly a century. In December last year Eskom met its deadline of establishing a separate transmission entity, and is set to complete the process of unbundling into separate entities for generation, transmission and distribution by the end of this year.”
The president said the country is moving ahead to facilitate a competitive market for electricity generation, and the establishment of an independent state-owned transmission company, adding that while South Africa has a deficit of some 4,000 MW of energy supply, it is also working with the private sector to fast-track investment to unlock a potential 4,000 MW of embedded generation.
Ramaphosa cajoled investors saying their investments are secure, that the operating environment is stable, and that they are supported by policy certainty and regulatory safeguards.
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