President Cyril Ramaphosa
Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan said on Friday that President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation address (Sona) reaffirmed the key economic policy objective of reviving fixed investment rates in a bid to place the economy on a sustainable faster economic growth path.
Ramaphosa's Thursday night Sona focused more on economic growth interventions which will include strengthening capacity of State-owned enterprises and fixing policy uncertainty and inconsistency.
Ramaphosa said these interventions will focus on addressing policy uncertainty in mining sector regulation, competition, the visa regime, the allocation of broadband spectrum, and the submission of the National Health Insurance Bill to Parliament.
Kaplan said that restoring confidence through improved legislative and regulatory clarity and enhancing the ease of doing business was integral to a recovery in fixed investment by the private sector.
"However, uncertainty relating to property rights is likely to persist for now," Kaplan said.
"Although the President reiterated that the land reform programme would be accelerated, and the intention remains for agricultural output to be increased and food security protected, the methodology of land expropriation without compensation was not detailed."
Ramaphosa also announced the unbundling of Eskom into three units -- generation, transmission and distribution -- in a bid to shore up the weak financial position of the debt-ridden power utility.