Although enabling more economic activity, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has done over the last week, is a good start, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso says South Africa still needs investor and business confidence to close the unemployment gap to at least pre-Covid-levels.

The President had announced the further opening up of borders for tourism, as well as reverting to more normal sales times in the liquor trade, which would both bode well for businesses.

South Africa had seen the loss of 2.2-million jobs in the second quarter of the year, with about 540 000 jobs coming back in the third quarter. However, Mavuso says that is still far from pre-pandemic levels, and healthy levels overall.

She hopes that Ramaphosa will use the Investment Conference South Africa, being held on November 17 and 18, to ramp home impending changes in policy and communicate clearly how South Africa intends to pursue reforms that show it “can stand out in a crowded field of countries seeking to unlock investment”.

“What we really need is confidence so that businesses can use the gap that they have to invest and expand.

“We are going to have to adapt to the permanent changes that the crisis has delivered. That will require innovation and a positive outlook. If business people do not have a sense that a positive future awaits them, we are not going to see those employment numbers recovering for a long time,” Mavuso explains.

She believes that confidence can come from many places, adding that the move last week to charge African National Congress secretary-general Ace Magashule with fraud and corruption is the kind of signal business has been needing.

“We need to see that corruption at every level is being seriously tackled. Of course, more can be done on this front, particularly in the private sector where both massive and minor frauds and other malfeasance have gone unchecked for too long.

“Fraud and corruption destroy trust, which is an essential factor in business. Tackling it head-on is one way to deliver confidence in the wider effort to get business to have the confidence to invest and grow the economy.”

But, Mavuso notes, by charging Magashule, the prosecuting authorities have demonstrated that they are not afraid of confronting the powerful. It is a strong signal that a key pillar of our constitutional democracy has been re-established, she says.

Meanwhile, as the country heads towards the festive season, the country needs reasons for cheer.

“We have all experienced trauma from this crisis, but we are now able to lead lives that are much closer to normal. We can socialise, use restaurants and make holiday plans. That is a far more positive position to be in than many European countries now facing record infection rates and draconian lockdowns.

“Of course, we cannot let our guard down. There is still much opportunity for the virus to resurge here. But our warm weather, judging from the experience of other countries, makes it easier to maintain distance and stay outdoors, curbing infection rates.

“Now that we also have a realistic prospect that vaccines will be ready within months, I feel we can safely hope that the worst is behind us. That is another reason for confidence.”