The Presidency and business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) have united behind the plan, announced last week, to lift economic growth above 3% a year and contribute towards the creation of one-million new jobs by 2030, with both social partners agreeing that the focus must now shift from fixing the economy’s structural weaknesses to unlocking its growth potential.

The agreement forms the basis of Phase 3 of the Government-Business Partnership, launched at Summer Place, in Johannesburg, on August 20, with more than 30 CEOs committing private-sector expertise, resources and capacity to work alongside government on this growth agenda.

In his latest weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa has highlighted that the first two phases of the partnership were focused primarily on stabilising the economy and addressing binding constraints, particularly in electricity, freight logistics and the criminal justice system.

“When we started, our immediate objective was to respond to the crises in electricity and logistics. We brought on board private sector capabilities through the National Energy Crisis Committee and undertook joint efforts in freight transport to halt the decline in these critical network industries.

“We mobilised support from business for the structural reforms that government had embarked on and drew on its resources to build institutional capacity in the State,” Ramaphosa says.

The partnership was established in 2023 when South Africa was facing severe loadshedding, deteriorating logistics performance and persistent security challenges.

Since then, government and business have worked together on reforms and operational improvements, contributing to more than 400 days without loadshedding, improved port performance and the opening of freight rail corridors to private operators.

Other notable improvements include South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, while ongoing work in public finances and economic reforms have contributed to more positive credit-rating assessments.

Echoing the President’s sentiments on government-business collaboration, reform improvements and economic growth in her weekly newsletter, BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso says the current progress made in this regard demonstrates that this partnership has moved beyond discussion and produced some tangible outcomes.

“The partnership’s renewal marks an important change in emphasis. We have been focused on fixing what’s broken. That has involved major reform and operational turnarounds in our critical network infrastructure.

“Government has also been highly effective in turning around the dire state of public finances to the point where we have received upgrades to our national credit rating,” she highlights.

Moreover, Mavuso notes that the private sector has already invested more than R360-billion in new energy generation capacity, while more than R20-billion had been committed to port and rail infrastructure.

However, she says these reforms should be viewed ultimately as growth enablers rather than an end in themselves.

“The hard work starts now. Growth of more than 3% is the target we must all be held to. The jobs South Africa needs depend on us hitting it,” Mavuso stresses.

Phase 3 of the Government-Business Partnership is built around three areas of intervention, with government and business aligned on the need to consolidate reforms while targeting sectors capable of generating significant economic activity and employment.

The first pillar focuses on completing reforms in the core economic enablers of energy and transport. This includes the unbundling of State-owned power utility Eskom, the expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure, the operationalisation of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) and greater private-sector participation in freight rail.

The second pillar targets sectors where South Africa has significant competitive advantages and substantial employment potential, particularly mining, agriculture and agroprocessing, tourism and infrastructure.

On mining, the President has highlighted the need for the rollout of a new mining cadastre system to stimulate exploration and investment.

Further, he notes that agriculture will be supported through efforts to expand export markets, while tourism initiatives include streamlining visa processes to attract more international visitors.

The third pillar seeks to strengthen confidence, which government and business regard as critical to unlocking investment. Priorities include tackling crime and corruption, improving municipal service delivery and strengthening specialised forensic capabilities to accelerate prosecutions against organised criminal networks.

Moreover, youth employment will also form part of the growth drive, with business and government working to increase youth placements in entry-level jobs, strengthen employment incentives and improve the transition from public employment programmes into sustainable earning opportunities.

The emphasis on growth reflects a shared recognition that economic expansion needs to move above 3% for South Africa to begin making meaningful progress against unemployment, and the social partners agree that the test of Phase 3 will be measured in outcomes rather than policy announcements.

“The overarching lesson of these past three years is that no single sector of society can resolve South Africa’s economic challenges in isolation. By deepening these social partnerships and maintaining our collective momentum, we will convert confidence into investment, growth and jobs,” Ramaphosa concludes.