Although South Africa is battling inequality, the New Growth Path aims to set the economy on a road of inclusive and equitable growth, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

"The biggest challenge for South Africa remains the deep inequalities left by apartheid. Despite the strength of our economy, it is still one of the most inequitable in the world," Motlanthe said on Monday at the New York Stock Exchange.

The Deputy President is on a four-day working visit to the US.

Motlanthe said South Africa faced high structural unemployment and deep disparities in access to infrastructure and market institutions. "This kind of inequality and division is not sustainable," said the Deputy President.

The New Growth Path aims to create five-million new jobs by 2020.

"Like other emerging economies, we need international investment to support productive activities that increase the overall competitiveness of our economy. We are of course most interested in direct investment that brings with it skills, cutting-edge technologies, and access to global markets," said Motlanthe.

South Africa plans to invest over R700-billion in infrastructure in the next three years, mostly for power generation and to upgrade rail and road networks.

"Finally, we will seek to support infrastructure and productive investments across Africa, especially to build logistics infrastructure linking southern and central Africa," said Motlanthe.

– BuaNews