President Cyril Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa will soon announce three advisory councils to focus on economic growth, investment promotion and state-owned enterprises, his office said after a meeting with business leaders.
In a statement on Thursday, the presidency said Ramaphosa had met business leaders, including those from South Africa’s major banks, to discuss how to accelerate the pace of reforms and build confidence, enhance investment and grow the struggling economy faster.
"Business leaders wish to support several broader initiatives, including the regular engagement at Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council) to address the employment crisis in the country," it said.
"The president has committed to hold similar engagements with other social partners including organised labour."
The advisory councils will bring together diverse local and international expertise from the government, business, labour, academia and civil society to generate and guide the implementation of measures to accelerate economic growth and the creation of jobs, in a country saddled with a 29 percent official unemployment rate.
They will also drive the process of rebuilding the governance capacity in state firms, after several executives in entities such as power utility Eskom were implicated in graft.
Thursday's meeting, requested by business leaders, acknowledged the work done by the government to date to rebuild and strengthen state institutions including the South African Revenue Service and National Prosecuting Authority, among other measures.
The discussions also focused on restructuring cash-strapped Eskom, the release of spectrum, digital migration and a comprehensive review of the country’s visa regime.
"The president has lauded significant progress made to South Africa’s visa regime which is already yielding successes including positive growth in forward bookings from Ghana, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates, among other source markets," the presidency said.
It also said the Development Bank of Southern Africa had made progress in establishing an infrastructure fund unit to finance key projects.