Team SA sees a Cyril boost at Davos

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lead role in the country’s delegation to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week has re-energised Team SA.

This was signalled by the standing ovation business representatives gave Ramaphosa at a pre-WEF breakfast briefing in Sandton on Thursday.

Relations between business and the government have been strained since President Jacob Zuma reshuffled the Cabinet in March 2017 and fired Pravin Gordhan as finance minister.

This led to the downgrading of the country’s foreign currency denominated debt.

Ramaphosa was elected ANC president in December.

In his address, Ramaphosa identified political uncertainty as having been a major concern, but said: “I’d like to believe we now have certainty.”

The new ANC leadership was ready to take SA forward. The government and business had banded together again to tackle issues such as creditrating downgrades, low growth and dysfunctional state-owned entities.

The government aimed to “attract investors to come to SA by increasing investor confidence in our country and solving the key challenges”, he said.

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, who is accompanying Ramaphosa to the WEF, said SA was “open for business”.

Business Leadership SA CEO Bonang Mohale said that while much work had to be done to restore business and consumer confidence, Team SA was ready to present concrete measures.

Goldman Sachs MD Colin Coleman said he was encouraged by the ANC’s new growth trajectory, which might revive SA’s economic fortunes.