President Cyril Ramaphosa enters the City Hall moments before he delivered the Opening of Parliament Address. Picture: SANDF
The Government of National Unity or GNU has plans to turn the country into a construction site.
This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivered his Opening of Parliament Address at the Western Cape's City Hall on Thursday.
"From our largest metros to our deepest rural areas, we have a clear intention to turn our country into a construction site, as roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and clinics are built, as broadband fibre is laid and as new power lines are installed," Ramaphosa said.
The President said the GNU is simplifying the regulations on public-private partnerships to enable greater investment in both social and economic infrastructure development.
"We must work to engender a culture of maintenance of public infrastructure, and dedicate resources and establish systems to ensure this.
"As the Government of National Unity, we are resolved to intensify our investment drive, encouraging and enabling businesses to invest in productive capacity," he said.
Ramaphosa said in the next five years, the GNU will forge a new inclusive growth path for South Africa by pursuing a massive investment in infrastructure.
He said significant projects are under way around the country in areas such as transport, roads, water, energy and human settlements.
“We will massively increase the scale of investment in infrastructure through a more holistic and integrated approach, positioning Infrastructure South Africa as the central institution of coordination and planning.
“We are simplifying the regulations on public-private partnerships to enable greater investment in both social and economic infrastructure development,” Ramaphosa said.
Investment drive
Ramaphosa said the GNU will intensify its investment drive, encouraging and enabling businesses to invest in productive capacity.
He said these investments will lead to increased employment creation for unemployed South Africans especially for young people.
Youth employment initiatives
“We will drive growth in labour-intensive sectors such as services, agriculture, green manufacturing and tourism.
“To create more jobs for South Africans, we will focus on processing our minerals so that we export finished products rather than raw commodities. We will pursue a smart industrial policy that focuses on the competitiveness of our economy, and that incentivises businesses to expand our exports and create jobs,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that the GNU will continue to work with stakeholders to develop and implement Master Plans to grow important industries, increase investment, create jobs and foster transformation.
“We are convinced that small businesses and the informal sector hold the greatest potential for inclusive growth and job creation,” Ramaphosa said.
This segment of the President’s address was hailed by Public Works & Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson.
Thank you Mr. President for backing my plan to turn South Africa into a construction site! #LetsBuildSA🏗️👷![CDATA[]]>🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 pic.twitter.com/scZaTjF3KK
— Dean Macpherson MP (@DeanMacpherson) July 18, 2024
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