Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the third phase of the government-business partnership will prioritize accelerating economic growth, expanding employment opportunities, and ensuring that economic reforms lead to improved livelihoods for South Africans. In his latest newsletter to the nation, President Ramaphosa emphasized that this phase builds on the progress made since the partnership's inception in 2023, a time when South Africa faced significant challenges in electricity supply, freight logistics, and security.
According to South African Government News Agency, President Ramaphosa detailed that while the first two phases were centered on stabilization and structural reform, the third phase is directed at stimulating greater growth and job creation in key areas of the economy. The partnership has underscored the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in tackling the country's pressing economic issues. Notable advancements have been achieved in the electricity and logistics sectors, including over 400 days without load shedding, enhanced port operations, and the opening of freight rail corridors to private operators.
The President highlighted that South Africa's removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list is a testament to the partnership's success, yielding improved outlooks and ratings from credit rating agencies. Despite these achievements, he acknowledged that the economic growth rate is still inadequate to accommodate the millions of people seeking employment, with around 8.5 million unemployed citizens and approximately 300,000 new work-seekers entering the labor force each year.
Phase Three aims to boost South Africa's GDP growth above 3% annually and contribute to creating one million new jobs by 2030. This phase will be driven by three pillars: sustaining the country's core economic enablers, unlocking growth in industries with significant employment potential, and strengthening confidence in society and the economy. Key initiatives include completing Eskom's unbundling, expanding private train operations, rolling out a new mining cadastre system, streamlining visa systems, and enhancing public-private investment in infrastructure.
The partnership will also focus on expanding opportunities for young people by intensifying efforts to create employment and livelihood opportunities. This includes initiatives to increase youth placement in entry-level jobs, supported by increased employment incentives and assistance for work-seekers. The government plans to sustain and expand effective public employment programs while collaborating with businesses to improve young people's transition into sustained earning opportunities.
President Ramaphosa concluded that the partnership's experience over the past three years has demonstrated that no single sector can address South Africa's economic challenges alone. He advocated for closer alignment between government, business, labor, and civil society to translate reforms into stronger economic growth and shared prosperity. The next phase of the partnership will focus on investment, economic expansion, and job creation, with the aim of converting confidence into investment, growth, and jobs, ultimately leading to shared prosperity for all.
