SA’s economy held back by structural inefficiencies: Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa’s economy continues to be held back by structural and regulatory inefficiencies.

He says the country must grow faster to create necessary employment and needs to achieve prosperity.

Ramaphosa says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s national budget will address these pertinent issues when he delivers it later this month.

Ramaphosa was speaking at the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday, where he launched phase II of Operation Vulindlela.

“Minister will deliver Budget 3.0 on the 21st, and the budget will, to a large extent, be a different budget from what we have had in past years. It’s a budget that is going to make us look forward.”

“It’s a budget that’s going to commit a lot of money also to infrastructure, and you could say for the first time in many, many years – we are now going to be able to spend up to a trillion rand on infrastructure over the medium term,” adds the President.

Meanwhile, Godongwana says procurement reforms in government should form part of discussions in the second phase of Operation Vulindlela.

He says procurement in government remains a challenge.

The minister adds that additional reforms will be prioritised in the next phase of Operation Vulindlela to promote inclusive growth.

“The reform agenda will prioritise, among other things, strengthen local government and improve the delivery of basic services. Harnessing digital public infrastructure as a driver of growth and inclusive growth and creating dynamic and integrated systems to enable economic activity.”