Johannesburg - Workers must encourage the private sector to invest
more in South Africa, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on
Friday.
"The workers of our country must continue to put
pressure on South African business to throw their money into developing
the South African economy," Gigaba told the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) national congress at Kempton Park.
The private sector was sitting on large amounts of cash that it should be investing.
"... they must match the levels of investment that government is making in the economy."
He called on business not to react negatively to this call.
"This is an important challenge to which the South
African private sector must not react with anger as they have done in
the past."
Business should instead "respond with sobriety".
South Africa would not be able to reverse unemployment
and poverty or reduce inequality without the help of the private sector,
Gigaba said.
The R300bn infrastructure rollout programme
announced by President Jacob Zuma earlier this year offered "massive
opportunities" to business, the minister said.