Ramaphosa and business kick off Phase Three in race for growth and jobs
President Cyril Ramaphosa says business and government are firmly committed to acting together and with purpose to serve the needs of our country.
Image: Presidency
Government and big business are embarking on the third phase of the Government Business Partnership with an agenda clearly focused on growth, jobs and confidence.
The partnership, established in June 2023, has set as its priority projects this year energy market reforms, a competitive wholesale electricity market, Eskom unbundling, grid expansion, and faster private sector participation in transport and logistics.
Youth employment interventions are also set to build on coordinated government-business models such as the Electronic Travel Authorisation, which has eased tourism bottlenecks and supported job creation.
In a statement to mark the launch, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “After two years of hard work, we can definitively say that this partnership has been a success”.
Big business and government state that Phase Two of the partnership delivered tangible results. Energy and logistics systems were stabilised and investor sentiment improved.
In addition, several milestones were achieved including South Africa being removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
During the period, inflation steadily fell towards the 3% target, a sovereign Eurobond issuance was oversubscribed, the rand strengthened, and S&P upgraded South Africa’s sovereign credit rating for the first time in more than 20 years.
However, the stretch goals set at the launch of the second phase in October 2024 were not met. These included adding a million new jobs to the economy through boosting the economy to a growth rate of 3% by the end of 2025.
Currently, gross domestic product (GDP) growth is 0.5%, based on the latest available figure for the third quarter.
The full year number has yet to be released, although forecasts vary between 1.2% and 1.5%. In 2024, GDP gained 0.5%.
Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop has indicated that GDP growth of at least 3% is needed for meaningful job growth. IOL’s calculations based on available Statistics South Africa data shows that almost 25,000 jobs were lost last year.
Ramaphosa said “While we have achieved much, there is much that we need to do. As this partnership evolves and as the focus of our work shifts, we remain firmly committed to acting together and with purpose to serve the needs of our country.”
Crime and corruption remain major obstacles to investment and growth. While reforms have improved institutional capability, tackling organised crime and weaknesses in the criminal justice system will be a central focus.
Big business and government agreed at yesterday’s launch that every action in 2026 must be judged on whether it grows the economy, supports job creation and strengthens confidence.
Adrian Gore, Group CEO of Discovery and co-convener of the business delegation, said “growth, jobs and confidence sit at the heart of our approach and need to be the filter for every decision in 2026. Business is fully committed to supporting this.”
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