Pretoria - The World Economic Forum on Africa, which kicked off in Cape Town, enters day two today.
The forum meets every year to pick over the economic problems and possibilities of the African continent. This year the event has attracted over 1000 participants from more than 75 economies.
Day two of the event will see team South Africa, which is led by President Jacob Zuma, participate in a range of activities.
This will include Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane participating in a session entitled “The Future of Water,” while Tourism Minister Derick Hanekom will participate in a session entitled “Unlocking Africa”.
Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramathlodi will be participating in a session entitled “Africa Mining”.
The meeting kicked off on Wednesday under the theme “Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future”.
Team South Africa was well represented on the first day of WEF Africa and boldly emphasised that South Africa is open for business on all platforms, according to acting Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams.
The day began with the Minister in the Presidency Minister Radebe participating, together with the Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh, in an interactive discussion on how competitive African nation brands can contribute to advancing Agenda 2063.
“Both Ministers and the participants at large concluded the discussions saying that the time has come for African countries to implement policies which will contribute to changing the socio-economic conditions on our continent.
“There was also a resounding call that Agenda 2063 must be brought to life through the implementation of national policies that support the pillars for growth and development,” said Williams.
This includes social issues like health, education and food security as well as infrastructure development.
South Africa’s commitment to the development of infrastructure is evident by President Zuma’s chairmanship of the African Union Program for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA).
This committee is seized with amongst others, facilitating road, rail and air connectivity between countries on the continent which will contribute to Africa’s integration, ease movement of people, goods and services throughout the continent as well as the continent’s ability to attract inward flows of investment.
Day one also saw South Africa in conjunction with WEF co-hosting a welcome reception for all accredited participants to the Forum.
At this forum, Minister Hanekom again emphasised that South Africa is open to all visitors and investors, while offering a range of diverse experiences that would cater for all visitors.
Finally, Team South Africa concluded the day with President Zuma hosting a meeting of the Business Interaction Group (BIG).
At the BIG meeting, President Zuma once again reiterated that government is committed to creating an enabling legislative and policy environment for business to create jobs and grow the economy.
“As with similar engagements in the run up to WEF Africa 2015, there has been a willingness of both government and the private sector to work together to drive South Africa’s growth and development.” - SAnews.gov.za
