Cape Town- South Africa has reached its investment target of R1.2 trillion in five years.
This was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday morning during the fifth South African Investment Conference.
Ramaphosa addressed 1 300 delegates attending the conference at the Sandton Convention Centre, and said the government remained convinced that South Africa was an investment destination with significant untapped potential.
“This fifth South Africa Investment Conference affirms local and international investor confidence in the structural reforms we have been driving to improve the business environment. The energy sector remains our foremost priority.
“The lack of reliability in electricity supply weakens business and consumer confidence, taints international perceptions about our country and affects investment sentiment and decisions.
“Our immediate focus is on improving the performance of our existing coal-fired power stations as they continue to provide the base-load of our energy.
“We have been implementing wide-ranging reforms in the electricity sector to enable private investment in electricity generation and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity from solar, wind, gas and battery storage,” he said.
At the initial the Investment Conference in 2018, Ramaphosa set the R 1.2 trillion target in a drive to create jobs and economic growth.
He also announced the overhaul of the work visa system in a bid to attract skills needed to boost investment as part of his target of attracting R2 trillion in new investments over the next five years.
“With the achievement of our R1.2 trillion target today, we now cast our collective eyes to the horizon.
“As we work with dedication and focus to overcome our immediate challenges, let us not lose sight of the incredible promise of our country, South Africa,” he said.
Cape Times