Opening remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa for meeting with the Black Business Council
Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me to begin by thanking the Black Business Council for initiating this meeting.
Strengthening governance at our state-owned enterprises and restoring their finances to health is vital if we are to rein in public debt.
Energy security is critical if local industries are to flourish.
The Eskom board, working with government, continues to pursue a turnaround plan to address its huge debt, its liquidity problems and its operational challenges.
The appointment of a new permanent Group Chief Executive at Eskom is an important step towards restoring stability and forging a sustainable path at this strategic entity.
We are undertaking these measures in support of the overriding effort to address the unemployment crisis.
In my monthly meetings with leaders of government, business, labour and communities to track commitments made at last year’s Jobs Summit, we are focused on the practical work needed to protect existing jobs and create new ones.
As the Presidency, we have been working with stakeholders inside and outside government on a package of interventions to create pathways for young people into economic activity.
Ours is a singular determination to improve the business climate and to implement the reform that is necessary to attract more investment and create more jobs.
Ultimately, however it is the private sector that will create the bulk of the jobs that our country needs.
That is why engagements such as this one are critical.
We need you to work with us to remove the impediments that exist in the business environment so that business is able to take the lead in creating jobs and opportunities for our people.
We need you to work with us to fundamentally transform the economy.
As representatives of black business, you have a central role to play in the national effort to change the structure of our economy to ensure that it is representative, inclusive and benefits all our people.
Your experiences at the rock face of business transformation must serve as a guide as we seek to build on our achievements and address our shortcomings.
Your insights are particularly important as we work to strengthen the implementation of our broad-based black economic empowerment policies, ensuring that they achieve far-reaching and sustainable empowerment.
To fulfil its purpose, it is essential that broad-based BEE contributes to inclusive economic growth and job creation.
We should all be concerned about the slow pace of transformation in the workplace, particularly in the private sector.
This necessitates some serious introspection by business and clear strategies to promote employment equity.
We know that black businesses who do work for the State have a myriad of challenges, especially around payment for services.
Despite the introduction of a 30 day payment stipulation, we know that it is not being uniformly adhered to, and we are therefore working hard to fix the problems in this regard.
The Black Business Council has always maintained that business does not only have a responsibility to shareholders.
Business has an equally important role to play in building a more inclusive economy and society.
Businesses can and must be drivers of development and play a role in resolving our key national challenges of poverty and inequality.
We are reassured by the faith that black business has in this country and in its government.
We value your input on what more can be done to unlock the economy, which sectors should still be tapped to grow our economy and what strategies can have the greatest effect.
With these words I thank you once again for initiating this engagement, and I look forward to the discussions that will follow.
I thank you. 