Government says in a bid to take spur growth and attract investment after months of hard lockdown, South Africa will hold its third Investment Conference from the 17th to the 18th of this month.
Since the announcement of the lockdown in March, the country has lost millions of jobs with a number of companies closing down.
Cabinet has confirmed another gathering of foreign and domestic investors within the next two weeks to turn the situation around.
Speaking on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting in Pretoria earlier on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said the gathering will focus on investment in the wake of COVID-19.
“This year’s conference will focus on the delivery of existing commitments to realise job creation and economic development. In addition, government will highlight actions taken to foster a conducive investment environment with a focus on economic reconstruction and recovery. The conference, as we all know, builds on the successes of the last two conferences which raised R664 billion laying a foundation for investment and accelerated economic growth.”
In the video below, Mthembu briefs media on the outcomes of cabinet meeting:
Government recovery plan
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa presented government’s economic recovery which focused on five key areas; the creation of jobs, the re-industrialisation of the economy, economic reforms, fighting crime and corruption and improving the capacity of the state.
Ramaphosa said the plan was guided by the vision 2030 of the National Development Plan and the programme that was outlined at the beginning of the sixth democratic administration.
South Africa was already in recession when the pandemic struck.
“The objectives of the plan are clear. Firstly, it is to create jobs, primarily through aggressive infrastructure investment and mass employment programmes. Secondly, to re-industrialise our economy; focusing on small businesses, growing them, and strengthening medium and large businesses. Thirdly, it is to accelerate economic reform. Fourthly, to fight crime and corruption. And fifthly, to increase the capability of the state,” Ramaphosa said.
The interventions outlined in the recovery plan include the following:
- Achieve sufficient, secure and reliable energy supply within two years
- Create and support over 800 000 work opportunities in the immediate term to respond to job losses
- Unlock more than R1 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next 4 years
- Reduce data costs for every South African and expand broadband access to low-income households
- Reverse the decline of the local manufacturing sector and promote reindustrialisation through deeper levels of localisation and exports
- Resuscitate vulnerable sectors such as tourism, which have been hard hit by the pandemic
