Godongwana calls for public, private sectors to work on achieving infrastructure-led economic recovery

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says it will take public and private sector investment to achieve an infrastructure-led economic recovery. Godongwana says government will need to remove any perceived barriers to investment while formulating instruments through which the private sector can invest in public infrastructure.

Godogwana was delivering a virtual keynote address at an Investment Dialogue hosted by the Sunday Times newspaper in collaboration with ABSA Bank.

He says the post-COVID-19 infrastructure-led recovery plan envisages new investment in health, education, public transport, and human settlements, among others.

Godogwana says any regulatory burden that undermines investment must be dealt with urgently.

“On the one hand, I’ve got pressure from my political party which says let’s introduce prescribed assets. Prescribed assets assume in my view that businesses do not want to invest in certain assets, particularly infrastructure. On the one hand, there’s no instrument that helps the private sector to put their money. We’ve agreed with ASISA that they have to put a common team, and that team has to make sure that we can put an appropriate instrument that can help the private sector investment in public infrastructure.”

Minister Godogwana outlines ways to improve investment: 

Energy supply

Godongwana says energy security remains at the top structural reform agenda. He says the security of electricity supply should be prioritised in conjunction with the global agenda of a transition towards a green economy.

“Over the last 13 years, we spent most of our time trying to fix Eskom, not fixing electricity supply. We need a paradigm shift that says what has to become the focus of the government is to ensure that we’ve got the security of electricity supply. Let’s not talk Eskom, let’s talk security of electricity supply. How we do that has to be a matter of duty as a nation.”

Godongwana says while it is important to invest in infrastructure, it is equally important that the police department protects public infrastructure by dealing decisively with criminal elements.