Ramaphosa tackles hot topics including Eskom, land expropriation and growing the economy at investor conference
WESTCLIFF – The president addressed investors at a conference hosted by Goldman Sachs on 15 May.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was getting into top gear to grow the South African economy and make an investment in the country more attractive.
He addressed CEOs and leading companies across South Africa and other parts of the continent at an investment conference hosted by Goldman Sachs in Westcliff on 15 May.
This was Ramaphosa’s first investor meeting since the ANC won the vote of South Africans at the polls on 8 May.
“The ANC has been given another chance to do good for the people of South Africa… We want a South Africa that’s corruption free with a growing economy,” said Ramaphosa.
He outlined a number of reforms that needed to be carried out to speed up economic recovery, particularly focusing on state-owned enterprises including Eskom.
Ramaphosa applauded Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, who was also present at the conference, for his efforts to restructure Eskom.
“The key challenges are management issues at Eskom,” added Ramaphosa. “We are not going to allow Eskom to fail. If Eskom fails, our economy will fail.”
H said although Eskom would not be privatised, he had embraced the notion of getting private sector involvement in the process.
Ramaphosa tackled the land question by putting investors at ease. “Investors should not be worried about this… There will never be land grabs. We need land reform that will not impact the economy or food production. I will ensure that the process takes place in an orderly manner.”
He explained that the expropriation act would be passed to allow certain types of land to be used for expropriation. In urban areas, this land will be used to build houses. He said most of this land was owned by the state.
Ramaphosa said he needed to reduce expenditure at a fiscal level and use the money for investment with the key mandate to create jobs.
“We are also reviving the policy [and research services] unit to ensure that policy implementation is taking place, particularly the implementation of the National Development Plan.”
Ramaphosa added that the regulatory framework that currently impeded the startup of SMMEs would be removed to ensure that more SMMEs flourished.
He urged investors to invest in initiatives such as the Youth Employment Initiative (Yes) and give young people a chance to address the growing ‘headache’ of youth unemployment.
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