Wesgro has welcomed President Ramaphosa’s announcement that he will organise an investment conference in the next three months, targeting both domestic and international investors.
The organisation said in a statement: “This focus on creating a climate conducive to increased investment will be essential if we are to boost economic growth and create the jobs needed to drastically reduce unemployment.”
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris said: “Cape Town and the Western Cape would be excited to host the proposed investor conference, and Wesgro is looking forward to participating, in line with our mandate to promote investment into the Western Cape. A key focus must be on shifting the international perception of investing in South Africa, which has recently been negative. To ensure that this happens, structural reforms will be needed to ensure that our credit ratings improve as soon as possible.”
Wesgro also welcomes President Ramaphosa’s focus on tourism. This is a key sector that has enormous potential to boost growth and create jobs. Tourism in the Western Cape, in fact, supports over 300,000 jobs if indirect jobs are included, and contributes nearly R40 billion (€2.8 bn) to the provincial economy.
Harris added that South Africa’s natural beauty, as President Ramaphosa expressed, had given a strong foundation to grow this even further. “Together with South African Tourism, we have been working hard to send out the message that Cape Town and the Western Cape are open for business, and we are determined to ensure that we continue to grow this sector, even in the face of our severe drought. We hope that President Ramaphosa will focus on removing problematic hurdles that have inhibited the growth of tourism, specifically, the visa regulations.”
Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, said: “Our number-one goal is to grow the economy and create jobs. Central to achieving this is the attraction of domestic and foreign investment through the creation of an enabling environment for business, backed by a responsive and accountable state. We welcome President Ramaphosa’s understanding of the need to actively open our doors to business, and look forward to a successful summit.
“We were also very happy to hear that President Ramaphosa wants to focus on tourism. Through Project Khulisa, we have already seen substantial gains in job creation in this sector, and look forward to sharing our experiences with the President,” concluded Winde.
