The South African business federation, Business for South Africa (B4SA), said on Thursday that the energy crisis and the levels of crime and corruption in South Africa have weakened the economy and exacerbated societal challenges.
During a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa to voice the business community’s concerns about the country’s bleak economic outlook, Martin Kingston, chairman of B4SA’s Resource Mobilisation Fund, noted that these three factors are always mentioned in any annual report that comes out.
The emergency meeting was held at a time when some investors are planning to leave the country because of the government’s inability to resolve a myriad of issues affecting the country’s business environment.
To remedy this situation, Mr. Kingston noted that the government is called upon to focus its resources on these three factors while stressing that rebuilding the South African economy is a matter of urgency.
At this meeting, the CEOs of South Africa’s largest companies shed light on the obstacles that stand in the way of economic growth and that exacerbate unemployment and social inequality.