In 2002, when Thabo Mbeki was president, one of us conducted a survey of CEOs of British companies that had a presence in the country for his MBA dissertation, asking them for their views on South Africa as an international brand. To his pleasant surprise, more than 100 CEOs responded to the survey. At the time, the primary detractor from South Africa’s brand equity was crime, followed closely by Mbeki’s cosy relationship with an increasingly dictatorial Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. Our economy was growing at a decent 3% per annum and the official unemployment rate was 29.4%. Just more tha two decades later, the economy is expected to grow by about 1.2%, and the official unemployment rate stands at 33.6%, with the expanded unemployment rate said to be about 44%, if we can trust Statistics South Africa’s figures. However, judged by a walkabout in a township on a working day, many more people appear unemployed than the Stats SA figures suggest. There is, therefore, a good chance that if the 2002 survey were conducted today unemployment would be ranked as the country’s main problem, followed by high crime levels fuelled by illegal immigration. Given our worsening unemployment crisis and descent into intractable debt as a result of our welfare statism, are we, as a country, responding with the requisite sense of urgency to make South Africa a favourite investment destination, or are we doing more of the same but expecting different results? We belong to the school of thought that holds that our government does not yet appear to have woken up to the challenge facing us. What those in government do not seem to realise is that South Africa is involved in a tough competition for investment with other countries in the global community. For every investment made here, chances are there are at least nine other similar opportunities that we forego. What we need to do is to ensure we are among the best competitors for investment. We need to ensure that when a company headquartered in Asia, Europe or the Americas is looking for a country in which to invest, South Africa is among the first countries that come to mind. Given our worsening unemployment crisis and descent into intractable debt as a result of our welfare statism, are we, as a country, responding with the requisite sense of urgency to make South Africa a favourite investment destination, or are we doing more of the same but expecting different results? Right now, can we seriously claim to be among the most investment-friendly destinations in the world? We do not think so. We have moved from being an economic leper during the apartheid era to a potentially attractive investment destination, but for a series of irrational laws that have the effect of putting off investors. While there was a good reason for some of those laws at the time (BEE and our rigid labour dispensation come to mind), we cannot legitimately claim those laws continue to serve the country well. When they were enacted South Africa was still the wonder of the world, blessed as it was with three living Nobel Peace Prize laureates at the time.Now, not only have Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk gone the way of all flesh since then, but we have come to be known for high levels of corruption, in addition to our niggling violent crime problem. It should therefore come as no surprise if we rank low on many companies’ lists of investment destinations. What is to be done? We need to focus all our attention on attracting investment, creating jobs and growing our economy. Not only will success in this endeavour result in more tax for the fiscus, but it would also lead to relatively lower crime levels. The extra tax revenue generated would enable the state to properly resource the SA Police Service, the Border Management Authority and the near-moribund South African National Defence Force, among other institutions. Of necessity, that means we should have the courage to make tough decisions. Our government should immediately ditch laws that benefit a few already well-off BEE entrepreneurs and tenderpreneurs and start enacting policies that make us an attractive investment destination. To this end there are several immediate steps government can take to turn the tide against the dire economic situation, with its attendant ills. Though most of the suggested steps will no doubt be unpopular with the ANC and its allies, we believe they would open the investment floodgates for the country. Labour market deregulationFirst, there’s an urgent need for labour market deregulation. The relaxation of rules on employment such as minimum wages and hiring and firing controls would increase market flexibility and encourage businesses to employ more workers. The claim by detractors that this would increase already high inequality is nonsense. That step alone would see more people given back the dignity of earning a living, instead of being a burden to the state through the welfare grants. As things stand we are the most economically unequal country of those measured in the world, with a Gini coefficient hovering around 0.8. That means the top 10% of the population holds more than 80% of the national wealth. This is undoubtedly being worsened by the high unemployment rate. The reversal of the misfortunes of unemployment would significantly contribute towards reducing the country’s chronic inequality. Second, remove BEE regulations that affect company ownership. They have done nothing other than than enrich a few politically connected individuals and boost them to millionaire and billionaire status while deterring potential investors. Most investors shudder at the prospect of shedding 30% of their business equity to strangers who waltz in to enjoy the benefits of their labour and sweat. Were we potential foreign investors, we would also balk at that prospect. It is ironic that trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau is threatening to commandeer the one valuable aspect of the B-BEE legislation, enterprise and supplier development, to pool into his Transformation Fund, which will simply benefit the same ANC supporters as in the past. Though our unmaintained infrastructure has taken a beating and become dilapidated, it remains the best infrastructure in Africa. That should add to our attractiveness as an investment destination. As studies have shown, South Africa has the second-highest cost of doing business among the expanded Brics countries. The World Bank’s current Business Ready framework recently placed us second to Brazil, meaning the overall cost of operating a business in South Africa — including regulation, labour, compliance, taxation, infrastructure and administrative efficiency — is far higher than in China, India and Russia. Worse, companies domiciled here have to contend with ever-rising administered costs, which have not been accompanied by improved efficiencies. We therefore contend there is a dire need to urgently ease our business environment measures if we hope to increase our annual GDP growth well above the projected rate of 1.1% to 1.2%. We are well aware the steps we propose would be hugely unpopular with labour, as represented by the federations, and the predictable SA Communist Party. However, government has to govern in the best interests of all of its citizens, not only a privileged faction because they happen to be in alliance with the dominant party.A responsible and bold government would take whatever measures are necessary to get its citizens to work, rather than be preoccupied with assuaging organisations with inflated egos. Finally, given its haunting beauty, South Africa sits on a tourism goldfield. With higher employment levels, a better-resourced police service and military and lower crime levels, an aggressive marketing campaign would lead to higher levels of documented foreign arrivals. We know this article is likely to lead to much bleating in certain quarters but our primary concern — as black professionals who love their country — is the ultimate welfare of all South Africans. • Dr Nyatsumba, a turnaround strategist, business rescue practitioner and chartered director, is MD of KMN Consulting. Mathabela is an Agile coach and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Business Day