NAN-F-62
Transformation
Durban, May 3, 2017 (dpa/NAN) South African government has been “too conservative” in the way it approaches economic transformation, the country’s new Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, said in Durban on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA).
“We need to transfer assets to the black community,” the minister told hundreds of delegates at the opening of the WEFA meeting taking place from May 3-5.
Gigaba said he was planning to focus on “inclusive economic growth that would transform the ownership pattern of the South African economy” during his tenure.
He said earlier, that the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programmes had failed to create a large number of black entrepreneurs but rather focused on shared ownership schemes.
The minister suggested that South Africa, widely regarded as the continent’s top foreign investment destination, should have diversified its economy away from mining in past years.
“The ruling African National Congress (ANC) should have industrialised more, created a thriving manufacturing sector, helped young people to develop skills and made greater investments into small and medium sized businesses,’’ Gigaba said.
He said that South Africa’s former home affairs minister with no economic policy experience, took over the finance portfolio on March 30, replacing the respected Pravin Gordhan amid public outrage.
Gordhan’s sacking caused the rand to plunge and prompted two ratings agencies to downgrade South Africa to “junk status.”
Earlier on Monday, Nigerian millionaire entrepreneur and Chair of the United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu highlighted the need to tackle Africa’s electricity crisis to ensure economic growth.
“Lack of electricity remained the biggest hurdle to running a successful business across the continent.
“We need to tackle electricity if we want to tackle poverty on the continent.
“People who grow the economy are entrepreneurs, but the business environment needs to be right to succeed.
“Without access to reliable electricity from the grid, businesses cannot grow, provide critical services or create jobs, the businessman,’’ Elumelu said.
About 625 million people or 69 per cent of the population do not have access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Ese E. Ekama