President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the South African delegation to the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA) which gets underway in Cape Town, next week.
Delegates will engage and share best practices on various ways to grow their economies at the three-day conference that gets underway on Wednesday.
“South Africa is once again honoured to host this globally important gathering and we look forward to learning from partners and counterparts how best to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth that creates employment and enables us to improve the living conditions of all South Africans,” said President Ramaphosa on Friday.
The President said South Africa needs to create opportunities that will empower young people.
“At the same time, the Forum allows South Africa to showcase the broad range of programmes we have put in place and actions we have taken to reduce poverty, unemployment and inequality.”
The forum is a platform for South Africa to profile the ways in which the country has embraced the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and has begun to prepare for challenges arising from the interplay between technology and people.
South Africa will also learn from countries that have excelled in using technology and the 4IR to advance their economies.
A wide range of issues will be discussed at the meeting, including the future of state-owned enterprises; infrastructure; promoting female leadership; investing in mental health and achieving universal health coverage as well as Africa's climate change challenges among others.
Team South Africa’s objectives at WEFA 2019 are to:
- Position South Africa as a destination of choice with a large presence of successful domestic and multinational investors who benefit from the country’s location, infrastructure and logistics, and
- Profile investment opportunities in diverse sectors of South Africa’s economy.
The President and his delegation will further highlight that South Africa has prudent macro-economic policies; is restructuring its state owned enterprises to position them to grow the economy; is striving to improve its competitiveness through a commitment to create an enabling environment for trade and investment.
The delegation will comprise the Deputy President David Mabuza, the Ministers of Finance; Health; Trade and Industry; Small Business Development; International Relations and Cooperation; Human Settlements; Higher Education and Training; Communications and Digital Technologies; Transport; Public Works and Infrastructure; Environment, Forestry and Fisheries and Public Enterprises.
The forum, which will be held under the theme, “Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” will be attended by Heads of State and Government from the continent and the world, as well as global leaders from business and civil society.
It will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. – SAnews.gov.za
