MCEBISI JONAS: Five steps SA must take to grow the economy
'Annual fixed investment growth needs to exceed 10% combined from the government, state-owned enterprises and the private sector'
EXTRACT
The message of a "new dawn" resonates with the business community, with citizens, and with investors abroad. This message is being bolstered by fresh leadership in cleaning up the SOEs.
The next months will be crucial in proving this commitment to change, and cementing a coalition of support for the new economic agenda.
Our government has established an ambitious five-year target of $100-billion in fresh fixed investment.
For South Africa to be successful, it has to create the conditions for business to succeed. This cannot be the responsibility of one person alone, even though there is always the temptation to rate the country through the prism of the presidency. Success will require cohesion in the government and a sense of common purpose among our citizens. That's the message from those countries that have emerged from poverty and social strife in the past 50 years.The challenge is formidable. Africa received just 3% of the $1.7-trillion in global foreign direct investment in 2016. South Africa's share has fallen threefold in 10 years, to less than 0.1%. We must do better. Jobs follow growth. In order to achieve annual economic growth of 5% to reduce unemployment to acceptable single-digit levels over the long term, annual fixed investment growth needs to exceed 10% combined from the government, state-owned enterprises and the private sector. We must be honest with ourselves. There are political, ...
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