The Presidency and business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) have united behind the plan, announced last week, to lift economic growth above 3% a year and contribute towards the creation of one-million new jobs by 2030, with both social partners agreeing that the focus must now shift from fixing the economy’s structural weaknesses to unlocking its growth potential.
The agreement forms the basis of Phase 3 of the Government-Business Partnership, launched at Summer Place, in Johannesburg, on August 20, with more than 30 CEOs committing private-sector expertise, resources and capacity to work alongside government on this growth agenda.
In his latest weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa has highlighted that the first two phases of the partnership were focused primarily on stabilising the economy and addressing binding constraints, particularly in electricity, freight logistics and the criminal justice system.
“When we started, our immediate objective was to respond to the crises in electricity and logistics. We brought on board private sector capabilities through the National Energy Crisis Committee and undertook joint efforts in freight transport to halt the decline in these critical network industries.
