JOHANNESBURG - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised a "a bag full of investment," as the South African delegation returned from the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Friday.
Ramaphosa said the South African delegation had benefited hugely from its "pilgrimage to Davos" and had returned with a "bag full of investment commitments."
The who's who of the global and political community congregated in Davos, Switzerland, in the midst of annual criticism from protesting groups who say that the Forum as nothing but a playground for networking elites.
During a session at the WEF last week, Ramaphosa said, “Many of the business leaders I have met here have said they are buoyed by this new mood in the country. We want to hear the investing world saying that your message is clear, positive and forward looking. It is the type of message that you can have confidence in and correct some of the missteps in the past."
“Our journey here has paid enormous dividends. We are going back home, filled with a great deal of confidence."
“International investors have demonstrated that South Africa is still an important destination for investment. In all the meetings we have had, we have had nothing negative that has been said about our country. All we have had is encouragement,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa shared that he was satisfied with the outcome of the WEF “I go home a very satisfied deputy president of the republic.”
Economic Development Minister, Ebrahim Patel said the South African delegation had seen a positive mood among investors and South African businesses in Davos.
“In our engagement with investors here, there is a growing appetite for them to expand their operations in South Africa.Some said they were ready to do so and saw the country as a great base for markets in the rest of Africa, he said.
Ramaphosa added that corruption and dysfunctional state-owned enterprises were some of the things which were impeding growth in the country. “We do not want to miss out on the commodity boom. If the Mining Charter is holding us back, we should deal with it and find commonality of views with potential investors,” he said.