Structural economic transformation with inclusive growth at its centre will be fundamental to ensuring sustained recovery of South Africa’s economy, as the country cannot rely solely on external developments to alleviate what are also domestic growth constraints, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.

“The global discussion is about the return to natural growth and finding a balance between monetary and fiscal interventions, the role of government and the private sector, as well as looking at the role of innovators and entrepreneurs in finding new sources of growth,” he noted.

Speaking at a Mail & Guardian gala dinner reviewing South Africa’s twenty years of economic transformation, Gordhan said South Africa had to prepare itself for a new era in global economics, where solutions were not "one-dimensional".

“This is why we have articulated a clear structural reform agenda in the National Development Plan (NDP), which provides a strong platform for collaboration and partnership across society to address constraints to growth, create jobs and achieve a more inclusive economy,” he maintained.

The Minister further cited the NDP’s first five-year plan, which would be incorporated into government's 2014 Medium-Term Strategic Framework, and would articulate its intent, outline concrete projects and action steps and “ensure the alignment necessary for successful implementation”.

Moreover, additional investment in network infrastructure and capital equipment would, he asserted, ensure that South African companies were better able to compete in global value chains.

“Our competition authorities have made significant progress towards creating more competitive product markets. Greater competition in network industries is likely to reduce the cost of doing business and interventions in the food and agricultural value chains will contribute to lower food price inflation,” Gordhan commented.

He asserted further that the country should “judiciously” use the powerful levers of the State, in partnership with communities, trade unions, schools, tertiary education institutions and, most importantly, the private sector, if it is to execute the next set of [structural reforms].

But Gordhan cautioned that “making the shift to new pathways” would require a “sincere” conversation between social partners, a preparedness to embrace new ideas and a boldness of leadership “to go where we might not have gone before”.

“In our search for new empowerment models, we will have to take this into account,” he said.

Gordhan, who recently returned from a sitting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, added that these changes would be required during a period in which the global economy was in the throes of a transition from crisis to stabilisation.

“I know that many have concerns over the current weak rand and we are monitoring developments. We believe that, while the currency may be trading below its fair value, it is behaving as one would expect of a floating currency by adjusting to various market perceptions.

“While a weaker currency implies a high cost of importing, it also provides an opportunity for exporters. Our challenge is whether we have a private sector that is agile enough to seize the opportunities presented by a weaker currency and use that to their advantage,” he concluded.