President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Davos, Switzerland where he is leading the South African delegation to the World Economic Forum 2016.
The President is accompanied by seven Ministers and a large business delegation of chairmen and CEOs of companies. The theme for WEF 2016 is “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The theme of Team South Africa (TSA) is that “South Africa is Open for Business”. An important TSA planning session was held in Pretoria on 15 January 2016 and the team of Ministers, Chairmen and CEOs of major companies is ready to present the many positive attributes of the country in Davos.
WEF Davos takes place in a challenging global environment for both governments and business. The deterioration of the global economic outlook in recent months has resulted in slower global growth that has led to the weaker performance in several important developing countries, including China.
Moreover, the weakness in commodity prices is a concern for major commodity exporters such as South Africa. The fall in commodity prices is unlikely to reverse and will have a sustained impact on emerging market economies.
President Zuma says South Africa will be able to present a strong case for South Africa in Davos despite the difficult global context.
“South Africa has proved to be a resilient economy which is the outcome of the solid economic fundamentals that have been laid since the advent of democracy. Building on this success, the National Development Plan provides a basis for collective action by all of us in the country to stabilise the economy, build confidence, raise the level of investment and return South Africa to a path of inclusive economic growth,” he said.
The President added: “We will also be sending a strong message that South Africa is committed to strong fiscal discipline. Government has stuck to its spending limits for the past three years and is on track to stay within the expenditure ceiling in 2015/16.”
Team South Africa goes to Davos against the background of investor confidence that has been demonstrated by many international companies that have increased their investments and expanded their South African operations.
Government welcomes the following main investments among others:
- Mercedes has invested R 2.4 billion, General Motors R 1 billion, Ford R3.6 billion, the Metair Group R400m, Goodyear R670 million.
- BMW has recently increased its investment by R6 billion and VW by R4.5 billion.
- Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC) announced an investment of R11 billion in a vehicle manufacturing plant.
- Hisense has expanded its South African operations and has recently started exporting into the SADC region from its South African base.
- Marriot Hotels has also announced it will increase its South African footprint.
- Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Facebook have chosen to set up offices in South Africa.
The President is accompanied by the following Ministers:
- The Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, the lead Minister
- The Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Jeff Radebe
- The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies
- The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane
- The Minister of Economic Development, Mr Ebrahim Patel
- The Minister of Energy, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson
- The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
The WEF Davos 2016 meeting will also feature South African culture. The President is accompanied by popular band Mafikizolo, who will perform at the annual WEF soiree, the gala dinner that marks the end of the session.
Mafikizolo wowed WEF delegates when they performed at the Soiree/Mokete in Cape Town in June last year and the founder of WEF Prof Klaus Schwab made a special request that they perform in Davos as well.
Enquiries:
Bongani Majola
Cell: 082 339 1993
E-mail: bonganim@presidency.gov.za
