Share

Mantashe: Private sector must deal with past

Johannesburg - The private sector is too slow to transform, African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.

"Where the state is in charge, there is progress, [however] where the private sector is concerned, transformation is too slow," Mantashe said at a SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry dinner on the protection of property rights.

He said transformation included dealing with the past.

"We are dealing with a past we are all afraid of talking about. We agree that we cannot continue to blame apartheid for our problems, but we must be able to deal with apartheid moving forward."

He said black people were denied rights to participate in the economy.

"The transformation should open opportunities for black South Africans to participate, or else there will be despair in the black community."

Those with access to wealth should ensure that it transformed into common prosperity that would be enjoyed by all in the country, he said.

Mantashe said the constitution gave effect to land reform so that everyone could have access to land.

"The debate about property rights must include debate about qualification [of ownership]," he said.

"The protection is qualified as it is for property rights. But the constitution says there may be a need to expropriate land for public purpose."

He said the country cannot have 35% of commercial farmers owning 82 million of hectares of land.

"We can't have a situation like that while the rest of us are left with 8% of the [available] land."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.92
+0.1%
Rand - Pound
24.02
+0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.53
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.7%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+1.1%
Platinum
897.05
-0.6%
Palladium
997.25
-0.9%
Gold
2,154.19
-0.3%
Silver
24.89
-0.6%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,784
-0.7%
All Share
72,007
-0.6%
Resource 10
52,906
-0.8%
Industrial 25
99,553
-0.9%
Financial 15
16,591
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders