CITIBANK’S UK ROUNDTABLE REMARKS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASHATILE

“Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour for me to be meeting you here today after we couldn’t meet last year. I particularly like to thank Sibongile, who has been working with my office and the Mission here in London on this programme and the previous engagements we held in Johannesburg last year.

In a discussion with Citi Bank, my office agreed that we meet this way to converse about where we are as a country in the global context.

The last time we met, South Africa was grabbling with the persistent rolling load shedding, which was heavily impacting our economy. The load shedding was adding to the long standing pressure of stagnant economic growth.

When we met, we were also getting ready for the 7th democratic elections, which were highly contested in the history of South Africa.

Today we meet again, in a very different environment with the optimistic mood after we have made progress in the number of area since our last engagement.

One of the most notable progress we have made is in the area of energy crisis. As of today, we have experienced over 190 days without load shedding.

We can confidently say our reforms in the energy sector such as the Energy Action Plan (EAP) is bearing results.

Reforms in the energy sector have unlocked hundreds of billions of Rand in investment, helping to address the long-standing shortfall in our electricity supply.

Load shedding is now a thing of the past. We are now putting efforts to integrate the country’s renewable energy sources, to mobilise resources to fund the country’s Just Energy Transition.

In terms of logistics, South Africa has a vast network of ports, airports, railways and roads that generate national employment and large economic activity.

We are advancing the stabilisation and enhancement of the logistics system to support our major export industries through the National Logistics Crisis Committee.

We have initiated a comprehensive reform process with the Freight Logistics Roadmap, opening up the freight logistics network to public access and allowing private sector involvement in container terminals for the first time. We do so because we understand that the logistics performance is critical for growth and integration within a country and connecting with other countries in the continent.

Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), investors can maximise and expand their investment in other countries by targeting South Africa which is Gate Way to Africa economy.

The Free Trade Agreement, is creating a single continental market for goods and services in Africa. It further aims to reduce trading problems such as different regulations from one African country to another.

We need to work together to create an integrated economic landscape that promote inclusivity and improve the lives of our people. The global financial ecosystem has grown increasingly intertwined and dependent on one another. The complicated issues we face can no longer be handled by one organisation, be it a bank, a fintech business, a government agency, or a regulatory body, acting alone. Collaboration is the key to unlocking new opportunities, mitigating risks, and delivering improved outcomes for all stakeholders involved.

As South African government we have doubled our efforts to remove our country from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey listing. South Africa is on schedule to meet international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and could be removed from the international Financial Action Task Force’s
Many of the upgrades received can be attributed to the amendments in the laws contained in Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Amendment Act.

Our approach to issues of the economy, trade, finance and politics has been one that puts our people first. We want to be the investment destination of UK and any other countries. We are also heavily investing in our country to raise R2 trillion in investments by 2028, having successfully reached our initial target of R1.2 trillion.

In 2023, the economy attracted nearly R100 billion (approximately £4.37 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows directed towards sectors such as energy, mining, infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing, finance, and retail.

South Africa stands as a key destination for Cleantech Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the continent, ranking as the second-largest recipient in Africa after Egypt.

The United Kingdom stands as the third largest source of foreign direct investment in Africa, while South Africa emerges as the UK’s second largest destination for such investments. This highlights the critical opportunity to improve and increase foreign direct investment from the UK, further strengthening our bilateral relationship and fostering economic growth and collaboration between our nations.

Our intention here is to foster relationships and engage in conversation about how we can partner in making South Africa an even more attractive investment destination. Together with the private sector we have already established joint oversight committees on all of these issues to find lasting solutions.

We believe in the capacity of all of us hence we will continue to work with the private sector to find lasting solutions to improve trade and investments.

In this regard, on 01 September 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched phase 2 of Business and Government Partnership.
Through this partnership, we have worked to mobilise the skills, talent, expertise and goodwill that exist in our country behind a single task: to grow our economy and create jobs.

Government and business have both undertaken to commit greater resources to achieve our national goal of inclusive growth and job creation.

We need to ensure that we have the human, financial and other resources we need now to make a meaningful and lasting difference. It is up to all of us to ensure that this partnership becomes an essential part of a new era of unity, collaboration and prosperity for all. 

I thank you!”