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The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) says President Cyril Ramaphosa is someone who wants to leave a lasting legacy of economic freedom, its general secretary Dennis George told Fin24.
George was speaking on the sidelines of the Youth Employment Accelerator at the Spier Wine Estate.
“We have known Ramaphosa a long time. He wants to make a success of everything he does,” he said.
At the same time, George thinks Ramaphosa is sometimes maybe a bit too “soft” in negotiations, not wanting to “push” people.
“Ramaphosa is different from the other presidents SA has had in the past. Nelson Mandela focused on national reconciliation, Thabo Mbeki focused on the African renaissance and how to integrate SA as a gateway into the rest of Africa,” said George.
“Zuma will be remembered for state capture and weakening the State, while I think Ramaphosa wants to leave a legacy of economic emancipation.”
In George's view, as long as Ramaphosa can provide good leadership, the social partners will be willing to work with him.
“But if he does what Zuma did, then they will turn against him,” said George.
“The first thing we need in SA is to achieve higher growth. Our macro-economic framework is under a lot of pressure. This makes people hold onto the money in their pockets rather than opening a factory, for instance. They are waiting for the economy to get better first.”
George said that this is why Ramaphosa wants to have an annual investment summit, so that one can measure what progress had been made.
The Investment Summit is expected to take place this Friday in Johannesburg.
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