Addressing The Nation - Letter From The President

We Need to Stay The Course to Grow The Economy and Create Jobs

By Fiona Wakelin

On Monday 10 June 2024, President Ramaphosa wrote his weekly letter to the nation focussing on boosting the economy and the continuation of economic reforms.

“At this important moment in the life of our nation, eradicating poverty and inequality and reducing unemployment must remain our overriding collective priorities. We cannot address these challenges and improve the lives of our people without attracting more investment in our economy and accelerating growth."

“Economic growth, transformation and job creation has been at the centre of the programme of the Sixth Administration. Since 2019, we have implemented a range of growth-enhancing structural reforms to remove the constraints which have held back growth, to attract higher levels of investment, and to make our economy more efficient and competitive,” – H.E. Ramaphosa.

In this letter His Excellency invokes the establishment of Operation Vulindlela in 2020, a government-wide initiative to support economic recovery, and then goes on to list further economic reforms which include an overhaul of the energy sector, introducing private sector participation in the operation of port terminals, enabling open access to the freight rail network, completing the auction of high demand broadband spectrum and implementing reforms to overhaul the visa regime.

“The progressive implementation of these structural reforms has helped to improve investor confidence. This has in turn enabled us, despite an extended period of load shedding, to attract investment into the economy across a range of industries. The structural reform process has produced tangible results and laid the groundwork for sustainable growth into the future.

“Regardless of the form or composition of the incoming administration, it is important that the momentum of reform be retained and sustained. While we have come a long way in the reform journey, there is much work that still needs to be done to reignite growth in our economy. A change in direction would derail the positive progress that has been made and take us back to the starting blocks,” – President Ramaphosa.

His Excellency is clear that it will take time for the impact of many of these reforms to be fully felt, while at the same

time, the process of recovery and rebuilding is well underway. President Ramaphosa is also unequivocal that these reforms must continue alongside measures to advance economic inclusion, such as skills development, addressing spatial inequality and investing in skills development and public employment programmes.

“To realise higher economic growth and create more jobs, we need a combination of structural reforms, increased investment and sound macroeconomic management. As the Minister of Finance noted in this year’s Budget Speech, successful efforts to improve the fiscal position, complete structural reforms and bolster the capacity of the state will in combination reduce borrowing costs, raise confidence, increase investment and employment, and accelerate economic growth.

“As the country prepares for a new democratic administration, all parties need to work together to sustain the momentum of reform, growth and transformation. A stable and effective government committed to economic reform will enable us to build an inclusive and growing economy that benefits all South Africans,” H.E. Ramaphosa.