Co-chairman of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) Gareth Ackerman today called for closer collaboration between business and the government of national unity (GNU) to address the country’s low economic growth cycle and infrastructure challenges. Speaking at the annual summit of the CGCSA, Ackerman said a capable government that is open to working with the private sector will be critical to growing the economy which he noted has hardly grown during the past decade.
“We have a long way to go and the last decade or more we have regressed economically and growth has averaged about 2%, yet we actually need growth of 7%. We need a mindset change in government and learn from countries such as India which has defined the role of government versus the private sector. Government should set policies and let the private sector to implement,” he said.
Ackerman said he is cautiously optimistic about the GNU but cautioned it is early days yet, even though he noted encouraging developments in departments such as home affairs which is resolving the visa and permit backlogs. Ackerman said public-business sector partnership is key to resolving the country’s economic problems. He cited the uninterrupted power supply for over four months as an example of the success so far of the partnership between Eskom, business and the government. Similar interventions are now being made in other areas such as crime, job creation and infrastructure.
“Things are coming back slowly with the GNU and I hope it will be positive for the economy and this will allow the consumer goods sector to grow which is good for the economy. We need to allow and enable the private sector to invest within the policy and regulatory framework,” Ackerman said. He said the past year was a particularly difficult not only for the sector but for the economy, mainly due to load shedding and infrastructure bottlenecks. He called on businesses to do what they can within the communities they operate, such as investing in repairing and maintaining infrastructure such as water, fixing potholes and protecting the environment.
“We as businesses have the power to do something and these are things business can fix,” Ackerman said. He also said the consumer goods sector has no choice but to embrace new way of doing business, including investing in technology to remain relevant to consumers.
Speaking at the same summit, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busisiwe Mavuso stressed the need for government to demonstrate urgency to prioritise resolving structural issues facing the economy, including resolving logistics, water and energy issues. She warned that while SA is not yet a failed state, it will if these basics are not addressed. “The country needs to turn the corner; it is about the 65 million (in SA), it is about 43% unemployment when you use the expanded definition of unemployment and it is about 65% youth unemployment, which is the biggest risk as a country,” Mavuso said.
