INVESTMENT SUMMIT: De Lille cites need for enabling environment

The Western Cape, expressed its support for an investment conference convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa. African News Agency (ANA) Archives

JOHANNESBURG – The Western Cape, run by the main opposition Democratic Alliance, on Thursday expressed its support for an investment conference convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa and said it would use it to showcase opportunitites in the province.

Ramaphosa announced the October 25 to 27 summit during his state of the nation address in February as part of efforts to boost confidence in the country’s economy and help spur sustainable and inclusive growth. He will officially open it on Friday.

Western Cape minister of economic opportunities Alan Winde said the province would showcase its thriving tech and finance hubs, world class infrastructure and a wide skills base.

“We are open for business,” he said. “We believe that by driving South Africa as an economically viable investment destination, we can help tackle the pressing issues of poverty and unemployment.”

Head of the Western Cape department of economic development and tourism Solly Fourie said the summit aligned with the province’s strategy for driving  economic growth and job creation through promoting trade and investment in oil and gas, tourism, agri-processing, green economy, marine economy, ICT and film and media promotion.

The mayor of Western Cape’s capital Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, said the city had shown that in spite of the national economic downturn, cities could be the drivers for economic change by creating an enabling environment for companies to invest and create employment.

She noted that data from Statistics South Africa showed employment in the metro grew 4.8 percent year-on-year and that it had the lowest expanded unemployment rate, at 22.6 percent compared to all other metros.

“It is critical for all of us to forge partnerships for prosperity and inclusive growth for all South Africans,” de Lille said.

“We cannot continue on a trajectory where only a very few enjoy the economic fruits of our democracy. South Africa is alive with opportunities, we must now create the enabling environment that will yield jobs for all our people.”

Cape Town and Wesgro, the province’s tourism, trade and investment promotion agency, recently launched an international investor confidence marketing campaign, targeting investors in the USA, China, UK, France, Netherlands and Germany.

African News Agency (ANA)

Source: iol.co.za