Cape Town – Government should not chase investors away with a narrative for short-term gains, said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Thursday.
Speaking at an SABC breakfast show the morning after he delivered his 2017 Budget Speech, Gordhan was asked how government intends creating much-needed jobs.
“There’s only so much that government can do to create jobs,” said Gordhan. “At the end of the day 70% of the economy is in private hands. People who are running these businesses are the ones who need to create jobs.”
He stressed that private business is not obliged to invest in the country. “They need to have confidence in the economy and believe that there would be returns on their investments and that their money would be safe."
Government, together with business leaders and labour, has done its best to reassure investors, Gordhan said, and work in this regard would continue in 2017.
“South Africa had put its best foot forward to avert a ratings downgrade last year and this collaborative effort will be revisited again this year.
“We’ll try and push business (to invest) as much as we can, but in the end they also need to have a social conscience and see the need for investment,” Gordhan said.
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