Treasury lauds efforts to lure investment
EFFORTS made by South Africa to keep the country on an investment grade have paid off‚ the National Treasury says.
Both Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch retained their current ratings on South Africa on Friday‚ but Fitch revised its outlook for the country from stable to negative.
“Government‚ business‚ civil society‚ labour and politicians continue to work hard to build a foundation for faster growth‚” said the Treasury following the announcement. It said during and since the tabling of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement‚ various actions had been taking place.
The government continued to fast-track micro reforms in sectors with the potential to boost short-term growth including tourism‚ agriculture and the oceans economy.
The state had also ensured sustainable public finances while promoting economic growth by setting limits to government debt and expenditure‚ while supporting stronger public and private sector investment.
“Government has not only adhered to the expenditure ceiling set during the 2016 budget‚ but has reduced it further and proposed additional tax measures aimed at ensuring that government debt stabilises in the medium term.
“Further‚ government is committed to reducing waste so that spending produces the intended results‚ through procurement reforms. Over the next three years‚ the legal and regulatory framework will be strengthened to improve the relationship between expenditure and outcomes which is essential in an environment of slow growth and limited resources.”
The cabinet has endorsed the private sector participation framework for stateowned companies and the guidelines for the remuneration and incentive standards for directors of these companies. It has also approved the revised Integrated Energy Plan which was published for public discussion to afford stakeholders the chance to comment.
The advisory panel on the minimum wage‚ led by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa‚ published a report proposing a national minimum wage of R3 500 per month. The Treasury said the report represented a balanced‚ thoughtful and constructive approach to addressing the challenge of inequality and unemployment. “All these developments have ensured an investment grade status for South Africa.” — TMG Digital