Now is the time to act on reform promises, Ramaphosa – economist

President Cyril Ramaphosa is doing a fine job to sell the South Africa and the African story to try and lure investors to bring their money to the country, but that’s not enough if he does not act to correct on his reform promises, a leading economist has said.

Dawie Roodt, chief economist at Efficient Group, said if Ramaphosa was to realise the investments, he needed to fix Eskom and other state-owned enterprises and bring efficiency to the state.

“Telling someone about what you are going to do is one thing, but doing it is another and that is the crucial part,” Roodt said.

The economist was reacting to an address by Ramaphosa at the Financial Times Summit in London, where the president sold a great story of Africa and South Africa to British investors, who he promised that if they invested in the continent, they would get good returns.

The president said Africa was ready to partner with investors and the private sector because it had been proven many times that discerning investors who have the foresight to invest in Africa can earn good returns.

“We have reached a moment where Africa needs investment more than it needs foreign aid,” said Ramaphosa.

He spoke at length about the opportunities presented to investors and to the African countries by the African Continental Free Trade Area (FTA), which brought together into a single market a total of 54 nations with about 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of over $3 trillion (about R44 trillion).

“Trade among countries in Africa is currently at 15%, compared to 47% in the Americas, 61% in Asia and 67% in Europe. By some estimates, the new free trade area could increase the value of intra-African trade by 15 to 25% by 2040,” Ramaphosa said.

He said as SA was the incoming chair of the African Union next year, it would put emphasis on giving effect to the agreement on the FTA.

Ramaphosa also said that over the past two decades, Africa had made tremendous progress in democratising.

The president cited this year’s elections in Nigeria, South Africa, Malawi, Mauritania and, currently, in Tunisia, and the upcoming polls in Mozambique, Ghana, Cameroon, Botswana, Namibia and Algeria.

“These aren’t just political milestones for the respective countries, they are a signal of growing political stability,” he said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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