JOHANNESBURG - South Africa is now in repair mode as it strives to restore confidence and attract the investment necessary to revive its economy, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.
Ramaphosa told the inaugural South African Investment Conference which has drawn some 1,050 local and international delegates that the summit was “a bold and unequivocal statement” that the country was determined to put behind it a period of uncertainty and discord and embrace a future of cooperation and partnership.
The conference is being held against the backdrop of weak economic growth, estimated at only 0.7 percent in 2018 as investors have held back support over policy uncertainty and concerns about widespread corruption.
“This conference takes place in the wake of a number of decisive measures we have embarked upon in the last few months to improve the investment environment,” Ramaphosa said.
“Following thorough going consultations with various role players in our economy, we have been addressing issues of policy uncertainty and regulatory obstacles that have impeded investments in a number of industries.”
“We are in repair mode”
Delegates at inaugural SA investment conference, October 26, 2018. Picture: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
South Africa had also been working with the World Bank to improve the ease of doing business in South Africa and crafting a new foreign direct investment strategy,” he said.
He acknowledged that some of the country’s state companies had experienced years of poor governance, a decline in financial and operational performance and corruption.
“Given the crucial role of these state-owned enterprises in the economy, as providers of critical infrastructure and bulk services, it is essential that they be restored as engines of growth and development.
As a country, we have also had to confront the bitter reality that several public entities have been severely affected by corruption and the phenomenon of state capture.