Marriott Hotels' R3bn investment a boost for economy

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Pretoria - Cabinet has welcomed hotel group Marriott International’s R3 billion investment in South Africa.

Addressing media following Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe said the investment will see the group complete five new hotels.

The group announced earlier this month that it will build three new hotels in Cape Town and two in Johannesburg.

“The announcement demonstrates the investor confidence in the country and positive future prospects of the local economy,” said Minister Radebe.

Meanwhile, Cabinet noted the recent naming of South Africa as the best country for debt management and sovereign bond issuance in sub-Saharan Africa by Emerging Markets Newspaper, an affiliate of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.

“The award comes after the World Bank acknowledged the country’s excellence in debt dynamics/composition. These accolades are testament to the success the country continues to enjoy in global capital markets and the prudent manner in which the economy is managed,” said Minister Radebe.

Kenya State visit

Cabinet also noted South Africa’s first Kenyan State visit since the dawn of democracy. The visit, which included a business delegation to the Kenya-South Africa Business Forum, explored investment and trade opportunities.

President Zuma’s three-day visit last week saw the signing of memoranda of understanding.

Cabinet welcomed the signing of a MoU on higher education between SA and Namibia at the recently held Second Session of the Bi-National Commission between the two countries.

Vietnam and Singapore visits

Cabinet also noted Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent working visit to Vietnam and Singapore.

The visit was used to unlock future areas of trade and investment, and to attract Singaporean State-owned enterprises to invest in South Africa through public private partnerships, in line with the Nine-Point Plan.

Isithebe Industrial Park

Back on the home front, Cabinet commended the launch of the R49-million first phase of the revitalised Isithebe Industrial Park in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, earlier this month by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

The first phase forms part of the Revitalisation of Industrial Parks Programme of the Department of Trade and Industry, and has been prioritised for renewal.

“The aim is to regenerate state-owned industrial parks across the country in order to promote industrialisation and increase their contribution to job creation and the country’s economic growth,” said Minister Radebe.

Industries operating from Isithebe contribute significantly to the economy of the area, providing over 20 000 jobs.

During the revitalisation programme, 15 small micro medium enterprises were appointed for the project to the value of R6.3 million, with 162 people employed. – SAnews.gov.za