Johannesburg - South African President Jacob Zuma has established a 16-member inter-ministerial committee (IMC) to improve support and assistance to investors wishing to take advantage of the opportunities in South Africa, the Presidency said on Tuesday.
This follows requests to government by investors who have called for a reduction of red tape and bottlenecks and for government to make South Africa more investor-friendly.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Presidency said the IMC will, among other things, focus on the alignment and economic policy coherence, improvement in South Africa's investment climate, scaling up private sector investment, implementing investment projects, and co-ordinating inputs to the new Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment commission.
The Presidency said most potential investors complained about the time they had to spend visiting different government departments and institutions to fulfil regulatory requirements, leading to the need to simplify the regulatory framework, among others.
The minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, has created a division at the DTI to focus on investment promotion, facilitation and after-care as per resolutions of the Presidential Business Working Group taken last year.
The IMC, to be chaired by Zuma, is made of the ministers of Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Energy, Environmental Affairs, Finance, Health, Home Affairs, Labour, Mineral Resources, Public Enterprises, Rural Development and Land Reform, Science and Technology, Water and Sanitation, and Small Business Development.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY