‘Gauteng open for business’
Downgrade was SA’s own goal – Makhura
Gauteng premier David Makhura yesterday lashed out at the SA’s “own goals” that saw the country hit junk status after investment downgrades by ratings agencies, Standard & Poor and Fitch.
Makhura appeared to distance his own administration from that of Jacob Zuma’s by saying that “not everybody had participated” in the decision to recall former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas, in a tacit reference to the lack of consultation by the president to arrive at the decision that both the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) have criticised.
The leader of the country’s biggest economy – Gauteng contributes 34% to the gross domestic product – described the downgrades as “self-inflicted pain”.
“It is self-inflicted pain because it could have been avoided,” Makhura said. He was the keynote speaker at the Gauteng Infrastructure Funding Summit in Midrand.
Makhura told delegates there is not much one can do when the sovereign credit rating is downgraded, but added there are a few things that can be done to improve the situation.
As an example, he said, one can increase the level of appetite for investment and the level of business confidence in, among other things, how Gauteng is governed.
He also said it was important to make sure there was no waste in how public funds were utilised, and to deal with corruption wherever it was.
Human settlements MEC and Gauteng ANC chairman Paul Mashatile told Sowetan on the sidelines of the summit that the recent booing of the president showed that people were unhappy about the situation in both the ruling party and the alliance.
“I think it (the protest) is mainly people expressing their frustrations and their disagreements. If they (people) feel that things are not going well in the movement, we must address those issues,” he said.