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.