Dear Editor
Today’s release by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) of our country’s third quarter gross domestic product performance is impetus to urgently accelerate the economic reforms South Africa needs.
The DA has written to President Ramaphosa today to table the immediate interventions needed, to make possible the right economic reforms for growth.
These are reforms that are on the working agenda, but must now be implemented without delay, and they include:
- Concessioning of rail networks, and national ports to allow private sector operators to efficiently drive growth,
- A competitive energy market, across the country,
- Investment in energy infrastructure projects,
- Water supply infrastructure investment, for water supply security and certainty.
Action on rail, ports and the competitive energy market must be accelerated and immediately implemented.
Any economic contraction is a signal to Government to work harder to reform the economy, to build on the work that has been done in the past six months.
While unemployment went down in the last quarter, economic growth can and will follow with the right interventions from President Ramaphosa.
Our country’s construction sector has delivered 176,000 new jobs, in the previous quarter, and other economic interventions like new Remote Work Visas, are steps in the right direction.
New directions in budget policy, from the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, have laid important groundwork for growth to:
- Reducing Government debt, and investing in frontline services,
- An end to bailouts, which have cost us hundreds of billions of rands,
- A strong partnership framework with the private sector for its capabilities and investment.
Following a recent visit to our country, the International Monetary Fund noted our country’s “improving” outlook, as they forecast 1.1% economic growth this year and 1.5% next year. This follows similar reports from S&P Global and Goldman Sachs.
The DA will champion these economic interventions, so that we can see the levels of economic growth South Africa needs.
Regards
Willie Aucamp MP
DA National Spokesperson
Burn
Thailand: You have two cows. One of them was born a bull.
dark burn
An retired elderly couple visit London..
They get picked up from the airport in a london black cab and head off into the city for some adventure.
The cab driver say \”where you from guvnor?
Husband. \”we\’re from South Africa\”..
The wife is a little hard of hearing asks her husband.
\”What did he say?\”
The husband turns to his wife and says louder \”the cab driver asked us where we were from, I told him South Africa!\”
The cabbie continues \”I was in the merchant navy years back… I got to drop anchor down your way, a few times in Johannesburg\”
The husband replies \”oh wow that\’s where we\’re from originally, now we\’re in Cape Town.\”
The wife asks the husband again \”what did he say?\”.
The husband again relays the unheard conversation \”the cab driver says he spent some time in the navy and went down to joberg\”.
The wife smiles and nods.