Yes! Come and invest in a country that doesn't have enough electricity for its businesses and industry. Come and invest in a country with of the most expensive telecommunications costs in the world!
What will happen if people DO start investing in SA, and all sit without electricity?
Invest in SA, says Mbeki
February 27, 2006
By Alide Dasnois
Pretoria - President Thabo Mbeki has urged business to invest in South Africa to ensure the success of the accelerated and shared growth initiative (Asgisa).
"A lot of Asgisa is driven by a higher rate of investment in the economy ... When you talk about different economic sectors, whether it is tourism or business process outsourcing, investment must come from the private sector."
In an interview with Business Report, Mbeki said the government intended to talk to business in each sector to find out what the government should contribute to growth.
"And government must do whatever is required. But it is not government that is going to invest in hotels and in taxis from Johannesburg International Airport to Johannesburg, so we need to engage business with regard to these higher rates of investment."
The labour movement had also been invited to contribute to development through the joint initiative on priority skills acquisition (Jipsa), a joint business-labour-government unit set up in terms of Asgisa.
Jipsa will identify urgently needed skills and find solutions to shortages, including special training, bringing retirees or South Africans abroad back into the labour market, and recruiting immigrants if necessary.
"We want to engage all the social partners in each of the specific areas in ways which are specific to each of the areas," Mbeki said.
On import-parity pricing, Mbeki said: "We are attending to this."
Taking steel as an example, he said: "If you bring down the cost of steel to South African manufacturing you have a very big possibility of expanding the metallurgical sector.
"We are importing nails from the rest of the world - how come?"
He said it should be possible to create small firms employing half a dozen people to manufacture nails.
The question would then arise of the application of bargaining council agreements between employers and employees to small business.
"Should these small producers be bound by the agreement with the steel and engineering industry or is there a possibility of varying it?"
Citing the example of the successful outsourcing by a mining company of its fencing contracts to a small business that had now grown, Mbeki said the development of small and medium business was a key part of Asgisa and big business could help.
Public funds could be set aside for the development of small business, "but that incubation process could never be done by the civil service ... they don't know anything about making fences".
He said: "Even if the government provides the funds, the capital and all that, the interaction with people who actually do this work is necessary."
What will happen if people DO start investing in SA, and all sit without electricity?
Invest in SA, says Mbeki
February 27, 2006
By Alide Dasnois
Pretoria - President Thabo Mbeki has urged business to invest in South Africa to ensure the success of the accelerated and shared growth initiative (Asgisa).
"A lot of Asgisa is driven by a higher rate of investment in the economy ... When you talk about different economic sectors, whether it is tourism or business process outsourcing, investment must come from the private sector."
In an interview with Business Report, Mbeki said the government intended to talk to business in each sector to find out what the government should contribute to growth.
"And government must do whatever is required. But it is not government that is going to invest in hotels and in taxis from Johannesburg International Airport to Johannesburg, so we need to engage business with regard to these higher rates of investment."
The labour movement had also been invited to contribute to development through the joint initiative on priority skills acquisition (Jipsa), a joint business-labour-government unit set up in terms of Asgisa.
Jipsa will identify urgently needed skills and find solutions to shortages, including special training, bringing retirees or South Africans abroad back into the labour market, and recruiting immigrants if necessary.
"We want to engage all the social partners in each of the specific areas in ways which are specific to each of the areas," Mbeki said.
On import-parity pricing, Mbeki said: "We are attending to this."
Taking steel as an example, he said: "If you bring down the cost of steel to South African manufacturing you have a very big possibility of expanding the metallurgical sector.
"We are importing nails from the rest of the world - how come?"
He said it should be possible to create small firms employing half a dozen people to manufacture nails.
The question would then arise of the application of bargaining council agreements between employers and employees to small business.
"Should these small producers be bound by the agreement with the steel and engineering industry or is there a possibility of varying it?"
Citing the example of the successful outsourcing by a mining company of its fencing contracts to a small business that had now grown, Mbeki said the development of small and medium business was a key part of Asgisa and big business could help.
Public funds could be set aside for the development of small business, "but that incubation process could never be done by the civil service ... they don't know anything about making fences".
He said: "Even if the government provides the funds, the capital and all that, the interaction with people who actually do this work is necessary."
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