CAPE TOWN - Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Thursday, has noted that SA's decrease in World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness rankings from 47 to 61 is rooted in increased corruption, crime and government instability.
Ramaphosa was yesterday grilled in an answer and question session in the National Assembly.
Answering a question relating to efforts the government has to restore investor confidence to ensure economic growth in the country, Ramaphosa said, "Government has established the Inter-Ministerial Committee on investment to oversee our overall investment policy, alignment and coordination and improve the investment climate".
Running parallel to Inter-Ministerial Committee, is Invest South Africa - a one-stop shop approach to investment. "Invest SA meets investors on various platforms and on an ongoing basis to discuss investment opportunities and address investor concerns," Ramaphosa said.
The deputy president further revealed that for the first two quarters of the current financial year, Invest SA achieved an investment pipeline of R 42.7 billion.
Ramaphosa added that, government incentive programmes like that in the auto industry are attracting new investment and encouraging companies to expand their operations.
Touching on the question relating to strengthening of the state-owned enterprises, Ramaphosa said government is now becoming aware that corruption has a devastating effect on operations and performance of the SOEs.
To curb this effect, SOEs need to be managed by highly skilled and experienced professionals who committed to wellbeing of the institution and willing to push the economic mandate. "The appointment of SOE boards and executives needs to be more rigorous, consistent and transparent," Ramaphosa added.
The deputy president feels that government needs to consider instituting lifestyle audits of all senior political leaders and government officials as a matter of course.
"Our efforts to grow the economy are heavily dependent on entities like Eskom, Transnet and Prasa to provide goods and services – to citizens and business alike – efficiently and affordably," Ramaphosa explained.