Perfect opportunity for the SA government to make the right choices
SOUTH AFRICA simply, bluntly, cannot afford to ignore the fundamental shifts required in how investment and growth are viewed – and actioned.
Recent Ramaphoric efforts to root out corruption and improve the government’s efficiency may have planted the seeds for economic recovery, but private investment in SOEs; policy certainty in mining, agriculture and industry; and ongoing dialogue between the government and business are immediate essentials to attract – and retain – capital investment. An inclusively growing economy will also require the resolution of the spectrum issues, reduced data costs and expanded digital services.
Right now, the government has the perfect opportunity to ensure the policy choices it makes will target new investment towards opportunities for growth that address the problems associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the right policy interventions and the support of a stable political environment, the muchneeded investment that has been waiting on the sidelines for so long to flood into the South African economy can be unlocked.
As difficult as things may seem, South Africans must face our “Ramaphreality” and engage like never before under a common goal of inclusive growth – and now is the time. ADAM CRAKER CEO, IQBUSINESS
Making South Africa a better place for all
A PLETHORA of events that characterised Mandela Month were a true reflection of who Nelson Mandela was. The spirit of goodwill that engulfed the country throughout the month gave hope and assured all and sundry that the spirit of Mandela lives on. If we try as a nation, South Africa can be a better place for all.
Conversely, many reduce Mandela Day to a commercial subterfuge that advertisers use to give their brands traction by riding on the spirit of giving. Other themes are reduced to mere obfuscation that does not give meaning to what uTata stood for.
Some critics describe Mandela Month as an annual – once-off – lugubrious episode that entices the needy to a better life, only to leave them hanging after Mandela Month has passed. Whatever the impact Mandela Month leaves, how big or how small, it is the essence of giving that wins; as the cliché says, “it’s the thought that counts”.
Many government departments use Mandela Month as a platform to accelerate service delivery. Throughout the month, different departments came up with concepts that were used to uplift the poor.
In one of the brightest and most prudent moves of this year’s Mandela Month, the Rural Enterprise and Industrial Development unit within the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform converged on a group of smallholder farmers it supported to sign a pledge to supply the Good Hope Orphanage at Winterveld in Pretoria with vegetables and other products for a period of a year.