Team SA heads to Davos: government and private business sector unite for WEF
President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a powerhouse delegation representing South Africa at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland with an eye on profiling South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
The country’s Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, speaking at a pre-WEF breakfast briefing session on Thursday, said, “For the first time in many years, his Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, will lead the South African delegation. This presents a golden opportunity to not only strengthen South Africa’s visibility on the world stage, but to also profile our G20 Presidency. Under the theme of Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability, our G20 Presidency reflects the essence of South Africa’s vision for global leadership.”
At this year’s edition of WEF, the key theme is "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,".
Godongwana said, “This gathering underscores the importance of collaboration between business and government as we prepare to present South Africa’s story on the global stage. Collaboration is the foundation upon, which we can harness innovation to address our economic and social challenges, while ensuring that technological advancements are inclusive and equitable.”
Having recently formed the Government of National Unity (GNU) following the elections, TeamSA representing the country at WEF will be accompanied by distinguished business leaders from South Africa.
This was revealed at the breakfast session, where industry leaders from the private sector, such as Nonkululeko Merina Cheryl Nyembezi, Standard Bank Group’s board chairperson; Adrian Gore, the CEO of Discovery; and Mary Vilakazi, the CEO of First Rand, and Nedback CEO, Jason Quinn, were present and will be accompanying government officials in Davos.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Parks Tau, said, “This year’s edition of WEF presents a unique opportunity for South Africa, to show our global counterparts the successes that we have had as a nation, where we can reflect on key issues in the country. The mood is different this year, as collaboration between the business sector and government is much stronger when compared to the past.”
Nyembezi said they would be stressing the alignment achieved between the government and the private business sector in the country.
“This time, we will have credibility about what was said previously, as it was actually carried out,” Nyembezi said.
She pointed to the decreased load shedding experienced in South Africa as one of the successful collaborations between the government and the private sector.
“South Africa is tiding on a firmer footing than we did when compared to the same time last year. There are signs that the economy of the country will be growing,” Nyembezi further said.
Gore said this year feels different, with a lot of optimism in the air.
He said, “The message or theme of WEF this year is one of collaboration. This is something that our country is currently demonstrating, as government is working closer with the private sector. There are a lot of attributes that we feel confident about going into this year’s WEF and G20. We are in a different place from where we were in the past, with our focus moving to the growth of the economy. We are moving in the right direction,”
Gore said at previous WEF sessions, there was always a major concern shown by investors, regarding energy stability in South Africa.
“We have shown that we can turn things around. Getting things right will eventually lead to growth and there has been a change in sense of what we can achieve as a nation by working together. There will be bumps in the road and the immediate effect may be hard to see in the economy right now, however, investors will not be looking at the case for 2024, but rather looking at 2025 and beyond. Economists have estimated GDP to for South Africa to grow from about 1.1 to 1.2%, which is an improvement from the year prior.”
Godongwana said, “Turning to the state of the South African economy, we acknowledge the challenges we face. The third quarter contraction, combined with the slight downward revision of the second quarter GDP, resulted in modest growth of 0.4% over the first three quarters of 2024. This was below the projections included in the 2024 MTBPS ( Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement) macroeconomic forecast. However, we remain cautiously optimistic.”
“There are significant upside risks to growth in the final quarter, including faster-than-anticipated easing of inflationary pressures, improved electricity reliability, and the stimulus effect of the withdrawals of the two-pot retirement system. While the road ahead is challenging, these positive indicators provide a foundation for stronger growth in 2025 and beyond,” the minister further said.
BUSINESS REPORT