Government has placed emphasis on the importance of investments to ensure that the economy is able to grow.
Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni says government is taking steps to bolster economic activity, investment and job creation in the short to medium term.
With the economy currently confronted by low domestic growth and an uncertain global environment, Mboweni has stressed that investments remain critical to ensuring that the country will be able to crawl out of the technical recession as announced by Stats SA in the second quarter of 2018.
Delivering his Medium-Term Budget Policy statement in Cape Town, Mboweni has spoken at length of the value that investments can bring to developing the country.
He says that such partnerships by both government and private sectors will help deal with the problems that the country faces.
“We are building partnerships to find solutions to the development challenges faced by South Africa and the region. Partnerships are essential.”
The minister has gone on to assure investors that South Africa remains an ideal investment destination.
“South Africa offers a strong investment value proposition. We have a highly diversified, open economy with an abundance of natural resources, an extensive and modern infrastructure network and sophisticated and deep financial markets.”
South Africa has experienced an extended period of weak investment, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa embarking on an investment drive to raise a target of $100 billion new investments for South Africa over five years.
So far, Ramaphosa’s investment drive has produced pledges to the tune of around 34.76 billion US dollar.
Mboweni’s remarks come as South Africa prepares to host Africa’s mega Africa Investment Summit conference. This summit is expected to showcase South Africa’s investment opportunities.
The rand weakened more than 1 percent on Wednesday after Tito Mboweni forecast wider deficits and slower growth in his maiden budget speech.
