Government-business partnership sharpens focus on faster, inclusive growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the third phase of the government-business partnership will focus on accelerating economic growth, expanding employment opportunities and ensuring that the benefits of economic reforms translate into improved livelihoods for South Africans. 

In his latest newsletter to the nation on Monday, President Ramaphosa said the third phase,

launched last week, builds on the progress made through the partnership since its establishment in 2023, when South Africa was grappling with severe constraints in electricity supply, freight logistics and security.

“While the first two phases of the partnership were about stabilisation and structural reform, the third phase focuses on areas of the economy that can stimulate greater growth and job creation,” he said.

The President said the partnership had demonstrated the value of collaboration between the public and private sectors in addressing the country’s most pressing economic challenges. 

He highlighted progress in the electricity and logistics sectors, including more than 400 days without load shedding, strengthened port operations and the opening of freight rail corridors to private operators.

“This has been possible thanks to a remarkable turnaround in generation led by Eskom, a rapid expansion in private generation capacity and significant progress toward a competitive electricity market,” he said.

President Ramaphosa also pointed to South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list, saying the partnership had contributed to the progress, which was followed by improved outlooks and ratings from credit rating agencies.

“These are real outcomes that demonstrate that social partnerships are more than meetings and presentations; they are practical, delivery-focused mechanisms that achieve measurable results,” he said.

Despite these gains, the President said the country’s economic growth rate remained insufficient to absorb the millions of people seeking employment.

“With around 8.5 million unemployed citizens by the official rate and roughly 300,000 net new work-seekers entering the labour force each year, we must accelerate our pace,” he said.

Targeting growth and jobs

Phase Three has set a target of lifting South Africa’s GDP growth above 3% a year and contributing towards the creation of one million new jobs by 2030.

The next phase will be driven by three pillars aimed at turning macroeconomic stability into broader improvements in the lives of South Africans.

The first pillar will focus on sustaining the country’s core economic enablers. This includes completing the unbundling of Eskom, building new electricity transmission lines, fully operationalising the wholesale electricity market and expanding private train operations on the rail network. 

The second pillar will focus on unlocking growth in industries with significant employment potential, including mining, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism and infrastructure.

Key interventions include rolling out the new mining cadastre system to boost mineral exploration, streamlining visa systems to attract international tourists, expanding agricultural export markets and scaling up public-private investment in infrastructure.

The third pillar will focus on strengthening confidence in society and the economy.

This will include efforts to tackle crime and corruption, extend partnership models to improve municipal service delivery and strengthen specialised forensic capacities to accelerate high-impact prosecutions against organised crime syndicates.

Expanding opportunities for young people

The partnership will also intensify efforts to create employment and livelihood opportunities for young South Africans.

This will include joint initiatives to increase youth placement in entry-level jobs, supported by increased employment incentives and assistance for work-seekers.

Government will also sustain and expand effective public employment programmes while working with business to improve the transition of young people into sustained earning opportunities.

President Ramaphosa said the experience of the partnership over the past three years had demonstrated that South Africa’s economic challenges could not be addressed by any one sector acting alone.

“The overarching lesson of these past three years is that no single sector of society can resolve South Africa’s economic challenges in isolation. Government brings an electoral mandate, regulatory authority and policy direction. Business brings investment, technical skills and resources,” he said.

He said closer alignment between government, business, labour and civil society could help the country translate reforms into stronger economic growth and shared prosperity.

“When we align our capabilities around clear, measurable objectives, we move our country forward. This approach reflects and strengthens our broader democratic tradition of social dialogue and cooperation,” he said.

The President said the next phase of the partnership would build on the momentum already established by focusing collective efforts on investment, economic expansion and job creation.

“By deepening these social partnerships and maintaining our collective momentum, we will convert confidence into investment, growth and jobs. And we will convert transformational reforms into shared prosperity for all,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za