ADDRESSING THE NATION BY FIONA WAKELIN
BUILDING A FIRM FOUNDATION FOR
Sustained Economic Recovery
P
resident Ramaphosa opened his letter to the nation on 8 November by referring to the first Investment Conference held in 2018 as part of the drive to raise R1.2-trillion in investment over five years. Subsequent conferences were held in 2019 and 2020 and together, all 3 raised just over R770-billion in investment commitments across a wide range of economic sectors. While the fourth conference was due to be held again this month, with everything going on – like local government elections, COP26 and the Intra-African Trade Fair – it has been decided to move it to March next year. This, however has not halted the investment drive and companies continue to make good on their commitments and to look for other investment opportunities in South Africa. His Excellency notes that In 2021 nearly R120-billion of investment commitments flowed into project construction or expansion – which means that around 38% of the total investment commitments (R290-billion) have to date flowed into the economy. Unfortunately, some investments into some sectors such as tourism and property development have been delayed due to COVID-19. At the end of October, President Ramaphosa attended the launch of Toyota’s expanded production line in eThekwini, which will produce South Africa’s first locallymade hybrid car. This investment was the result of a R2.4-billion commitment the company made at the 2019 South Africa Investment Conference. Also in KwaZulu-Natal, Tetra Pak is expanding its operations with an investment of R500-million. In this newsletter, His Excellency also referred to an exciting new area of growth – Pharmaceuticals. Aspen Pharmacare recently launched its R3.4-billion expansion (which it had announced at the 2018 Investment Conference).
12 | Public Sector Leaders | November 2021
