KwaZulu-Natal Business 2016-17 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
In a year that saw world economic and political
uncertainty, South Africans still had much cause to
celebrate. Great strides have been made nationwide
in building schools and hospitals, major efforts are
underway in terms of job creation, skills development,
SMME growth, the empowerment of women as well
as innovation. After a tough period of loadshedding
and energy instability, Eskom seems to have the
national grid stabilised as well as solid plans for the
expansion of our infrastructure.
South Africa also hit the world headlines through
the discovery of a new species of human relative
("Homo naledi") at the Cradle of Humankind
World Heritage Site, a local doctor successfully
completed the world’s first penis transplant, and
Trevor Noah captured a slice of America’s cultural
empire by taking over as host of Comedy
Central’s The Daily Show.
National priorities
In his State of the Nation Address in early 2015,
President Jacob Zuma said that it had been the
year of rededicating ourselves to eradicate racism
and all related intolerances in our country.
Zuma added that the country’s ambition of
achieving a growth target of 5% by 2019 is at risk
because of slow global growth as well as domestic
constraints in energy, skills, transport and logistics
amongst other factors. However, the situation
was more promising on the jobs front as Statistics
South Africa’s report on the last quarter of 2014
showed that there are now 15.3-million people
who are employed in South Africa. "Jobs grew by
203 000," said Zuma, adding that the economy
still needed a major push forward. Zuma also presented
government’s nine-point plan to ignite
growth and create jobs.
National Government’s nine-point growth plan
1. Resolving the energy challenge.
2. Revitalising agriculture and the agro-processing
value chain.
3. Advancing beneficiation or adding value to our
mineral wealth.
4. More effective implementation of a higher impact
Industrial Policy Action Plan.
5. Encouraging private sector investment.
6. Moderating workplace conflict.
7. Unlocking the potential of small, medium and micro
enterprises (SMMEs), co-operatives, township and
rural enterprises.
8. State reform and boosting the role of state-owned
companies, information and communications technology
(ICT) infrastructure or broadband roll-out,
water, sanitation and transport infrastructure.
9. Operation Phakisa, which is aimed at growing the
ocean economy and other sectors.
"A lot has been achieved in the past year. We believe
that our nine-point economic intervention plan on
the economy will consolidate the achievements,
and ignite much-needed growth," said Zuma.
South Africa has the 24th largest economy in
the world and contributes 30% of Sub-Saharan
GDP despite having only 6.5% of the population.
Sound financial management has seen South
Africa’s macro-economic fundamentals become
very strong off the shaky base that the apartheid regime
created. In particular, prudent controls meant
that South Africa was able to withstand the shockwaves
sent around the world by the international
financial-sector meltdown.
The country is renowned for an abundance
of mineral resources, accounting for a significant
proportion of both world production and
reserves, and South African mining companies
dominate many sectors in the global industry.
South Africa produces 10% of the world’s gold (it
is estimated that about one-third of the world’s
unmined gold still remains in South Africa) and
there has been an increase in the beneficiated
minerals industry, which the government has
targeted as a growth sector.
Economy
The discovery of diamonds and gold in the 19th
century laid the platform for the development of
South Africa as an industrialised economy. Wool,
wine and mohair were the country’s only exports
before minerals were discovered.
55 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2016/17