The Black Business Council (BBC) and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) have welcomed the reappointment of Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the Minister of Electricity and Energy.
The BBC said: “With him at the helm, the BBC is assured that the country will be provided with the required energy that will enable re-industrialisation to take place in earnest.”
Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO of BLSA said: “There has been good progress made in resolving the country’s energy crisis and organised business has collaborated well with Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as Minister of Electricity.
“The addition of Energy to the portfolio will help support the just energy transition and pave the way for further reform of the energy sector.”
The two business organisations also congratulated the reappointment of Enoch Godongwana as Minister of Finance and the appointment of Parks Tau as the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.
These two departments play a key role in business confidence for the country.
According to the BLSA, Godongwana’s confidence, discipline, political capital, expertise, and ability to inspire investor confidence is a good sign for the economic clusters as well as the SA’s economic growth and development.
On the appointment of Tau, the BBC said that they are confident that he will accelerate the implementation of the socio-economic transformation policies.
“He has his work cut out, as most of the senior management positions in the department and its entities are occupied by people on acting capacity, including the fact that the department never had a permanent Director General for more than three years,” BBC said.
Government of National Unity
Commenting on the government of national unity (GNU), BLSA acknowledged the efforts of President Cyril Ramaphosa and GNU members in overcoming their differences to prioritise the needs of South Africans by agreeing to a path of rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth.
According to Business Unity South Africa (Busa), the new cabinet ends the uncertainty about the successful establishment of a GNU.
“The announcement signals that South African leaders are now ready to put aside their party political differences and tackle the social and economic development tasks at hand, in the national interest,” Busa said.
On the issue of the GNU, Mavuso said the final agreement and the cabinet posts sets us on a new course, with all sides understanding exactly their roles and responsibilities.
It did raise some concerns on the size of the new cabinet that now sits with 32 ministers.
“The very large size of the GNU Cabinet does raise concerns about budget, efficiency and the ability to govern effectively while balancing the competing interests of the coalition partners and other stakeholders,” Mavuso said.
IOL Business