President Ramaphosa chairs first Presidential Economic Advisory Council meeting

President Cyril Ramaphosa has chaired the first meeting of the newly appointed Presidential Economic Advisory Council for the seventh administration.

The meeting was held at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Tuesday.

“The Presidential Economic Advisory Council will play an important role in providing independent advice as we seek to ensure that our economic policy is informed by sound evidence, by innovation, and by a diversity of views and opinions,” the President said.

A statement by the Presidency said the President welcomed members and emphasised the important role the Council plays “as the Government of National Unity looks to reignite economic growth and tackle poverty and inequality”.

“The meeting reaffirmed the necessity of structural transformation and economic reforms to accelerate economic growth and discussed forward-looking policy proposals in areas such as green industrial policy, skills development, and macroeconomic policy,” the statement read.

Furthermore, the statement revealed that discussions also forayed into “the need to position South Africa for growth in a rapidly changing global environment, in which technological advances in artificial intelligence and the imperative of tackling climate change will lead to structural changes in economies”.

Discussions were also held on South Africa’s Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) and the country’s role in “advancing the global economic policy agenda as it assumes the Presidency of the G20”.

“President Ramaphosa has outlined a set of clear and actionable priorities for the G20 Presidency which include mobilising finance to support a just transition, addressing the unsustainable debt burden on developing countries, strengthening disaster resilience and response, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

“The meeting discussed proposals to advance these priorities, building on the progress made on issues such as international taxation, reform of multilateral development banks, and climate finance,” the statement read. – SAnews.gov.za