We note the announcement by President Ramaphosa of his reshuffled cabinet. The appointment of Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as Minister of Electricity is a critical one and we will engage him urgently to see what his thinking is on dealing with the short-term loadshedding crisis and the medium-term energy crisis. We were of the view a new Minister of Electricity should not be appointed, but now that the President has appointed him, we will continue our support to help implement the President’s Energy Plan as a matter of urgency. He will have a significant challenge in coordinating roles between his department and that of the Minister of Resources and Energy and how he utilises the powers accorded to him under the State of Disaster.
Numerous new ministers are new people and we will wait to see what announcements they make about their plans and strategies and we will expect significant improvement in policy formulation and, particularly in implementation. We also expect to see a Cabinet that is aligned behind the President’s vision and one that speaks with a single voice.
The Cabinet will have to demonstrate, with urgency, that ministers will be moving with speed to address the numerous crises we are experiencing in our country. The ministers do not have the luxury of taking their time in getting into their roles, but must move with urgency and implement, implement, implement!
Business has consistently indicated its readiness to work with government to shift the needle significantly in attracting investment and putting our country onto a sustainable and inclusive growth path. We remain committed to pursue this and urge relevant ministers to collaborate with us in a real partnership.
We will look out with great interest for urgent indications from the Cabinet about its priorities in the next few weeks. We will, on the basis of such indications, engage and see if there are possibilities of working together. But we will also continue to hold Cabinet, and the President, to account to show decisive leadership and act with urgency to rebuild trust of government amongst South Africans and to instil confidence amongst investors.
ENDS
Cas Coovadia
Business Unity SA CEO
