Transcript of briefing to media by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on conclusion of WEF Africa

Thank you to members of the media for making time to be here today. The South African delegation has appreciated the hospitality of President Paul Kagame and have indeed benefitted a great deal from what he has had to say, more broadly as an African leader, but also from what he has had to share with us about the success, the steps they are taking to make Rwanda a great place for investment. We congratulate Rwanda for the incredible strides that they have made and we thank the people of Rwanda for being so warm and welcoming to us all and we thank President Kagame for arranging this wonderful forum here in Kigali.

 

Kigali for us as South Africans has almost been like an oasis. We have come here to draw wisdom but at the same time, we have also come here to make connections from our business delegation with a number of other business people from across the world. 

 

A number of them have informed us that they have good connections and great business possibilities for contracts and this is precisely what we have expected of the South African business that is here – that they should be coming to this type of fora to make contacts with a number of business people and for them to move from contract to contract. 

 

We are beginning to see this happening with our own eyes. On the government side, we have had the joy of being amongst a number of other countries – from the leadership at the top from Heads of State to Ministers. Our Ministers have been busy at work making presentations at a number of side events that are part of the boarder Forum in Kigali. We have made presentations; we have showcased South Africa as a destination for investment. We have showcased what we are doing, even in these trying economic times.

 

The theme of the Conference has been how we can connect Africa digitally and utilise the resources we have and we have been able to relate our own journey about spreading ICT connectivity amongst South Africans and what our own journey looks like and what the future holds in as far as this task goes. 

 

We have been very pleased to hear that our State Owned Enterprises who have travelled to Kigali have had an opportunity to interact with other State Owned Enterprises as well as other business entities and a number of them have pleasantly informed us that they have formed good connections and there are also business opportunities for our State Owned Enterprises. 

 

Those who have been here include Eskom as well as development funding institutions like the Independent Development Corporation and the DBSA.  They have been interacting well with a number of institutions.

 

Our journey here as Team South Africa has been really worthwhile – worthwhile in a number of ways so that we have been able to send the message very clearly that South Africa is a good place for investment. It has also been worthwhile to be walking in tandem with a number of other African countries. 

 

We have been here to applaud the success that a number of other African countries have been making, to be part of the region, to be part of the continent and to be part of this developing story where a number of economies are reforming, are advancing forward on a number of fronts – infrastructure, ICT and the delivery of a number of services to people on the continent. 

 

We can testify, having been there, that indeed Africa is on the move, that Africa is charging ahead on a number of fronts. Although the global front is gloomy, the sense with which we all leave is that we are revived, that we are part of the African continent that is growing and on the move and that we are part of this big engine which is growing on a number of fronts.  We have had a good and meaningful presence at WEF Africa.

 

Question (Inaudible):

Deputy President’s response:

In relation to the political landscape, South Africa is a stable democracy.  We have been a stable democracy since 1994 when the African National Congress won the mandate of our people to govern the country and the ANC has done so dutifully and has done that with great purpose with a view towards ensuring there is stability in the country and we begin the process of transforming South Africa and correcting the imbalances of the past and that task continues. 

 

It is pivoted on a very strong democratic system that is supported by institutions that support democracy. Our South Africa institutions are strong, they are robust and they are durable – very very durable. And the political landscape is not unique to South Africa. What people read about in the media is not unique to South Africa. 

 

These things happen throughout the world.  Countries will go through political issues and challenges from time to time. But in our case, what we can be sure about, and about which we can assure any observer is that the South African democracy is stable, strong, it is robust so South Africa Inc is charging ahead, resolving its problems and challenges and nothing that will disturb this stability will happen. 

 

We have far too much at stake, as a country and as a democracy to let instability to derail the process in which we are involved. 

 

We have to transform – and continue to transform our country so that we have a South Africa that is free, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous. We are on course to achieving this. And we will not turn back from that historic course that we were given by our forebears when they formed the ANC 104 years ago. 

 

Here you are dealing with an organisation of 104 years that is governing the country – and it is steeped in history, tradition, the good things that the leaders who preceded the current leadership have done to instil a good value system which we continue to carry with us.

 

Question (inaudible)

Deputy President’s response:

The colleague from N Times talks about Rwanda and South Africa – the bilateral relations. Our mere presence here in Kigali where we are participating at a fairly high level of government and where we are accompanied by a sizeable delegation – not only of business but also of State Owned Enterprises and non-governmental institutions which make up Team South Africa means that South Africa and Rwanda are two countries that exist on the African continent and have embraced this African notion of working together, of doing things together, to achieve the objectives of Agenda 2063. 

 

We know we can only achieve this if we work together and South Africa and Rwanda are determined to work together to be in co-operation and collaboration on a number of fronts. This appreciation extends from the top of government till the bottom, wherever that bottom may be and we enjoy really wonderful and cordial relations with the leadership of this country – President Paul Kagame has welcomed our whole team of government leaders with open arms and we continue to have discussions on a number of issues that we have to address. 

 

There may be wonderful things that we have to do together and we will talk about these; there may be challenges that we have to address and we will do that as well. 

 

We continue to do precisely this which leads me to the point about the ease of travel between South Africa and Rwanda when it comes to visas – this matter is part of the    ingredients about which we are talking and have to address.

 

In order to address integration on the continent, this is one of the things we have to address and solve – that there must be easy flow of people across countries in Africa – between South Africa and Rwanda especially if you like – and easy flow of goods, trade and investment.

 

Because we want to enhance this, we are here and we want to deepen the relationship between South Africa and Rwanda.

 

May I add that we as South Africans have found that much as we are a larger, more developed continent in Africa, there is a lot we are learning from Rwanda, particularly in areas where they are doing extremely well.

 

I was very quick to tell President Kagame yesterday that what Rwanda has done in the ICT field in wrapping the whole country in fibre optic cables and making internet free is something that we congratulate them on and we aspire to achieve. We really want to learn from them about how to turn Kigali into an innovation centre so we are really learning from friends and this why the friendship between Rwanda and South Africa will continually deepen, on a number of levels.

 

Question:

Why should investors invest in South Africa when at the regulatory level, one has to go through hoops to get things started? Yet it is far easier in Rwanda?

 

Deputy President’s response:

We have decided as a country, that one of the barriers to people investing in our country and which has been raised prominently by businesspeople is that our regulatory environment is a constraint, that we have too many barriers for people to do business, that the ease of doing business is constrained by too many barriers.

 

We have responded to this and Minister Radebe has addressed this on a number of occasions emanating from various Cabinet decisions.

 

We have decided to establish One-Stop Shops where a would be investor just goes to one office, one desk, informs one person of what is required and this unlocks a plethora of permits, authorisations, etc.

 

This has been perfected in Rwanda. They say that to open a business in Rwanda takes three hours. One businessman was congratulating President Kagame on taking four hours to open a business in Rwanda. President Kagame is reported to have responded – who told you that? It does not take four hours, it takes three hours meaning that they have perfected this and our being here means that we can learn from what they have done and we can also be like Rwanda.

 

They can also learn from us in a number of areas where we are doing well.

 

Question:

On the point that this can be attributed to a lack of cohesion and teamwork amongst departments…

 

Deputy President’s response:

If this has been your understanding, it will be something of the past because we are streamlining the way in which we operate and the way in which various government departments are structured and will be co-operating.

 

Question:

On the issue related to visas … the question is why are we enabling ease of movement in a piecemeal basis?

 

Deputy President’s response:

We are taking steps to address this issue of enabling people to travel in and out of South Africa and we have had to look at a number of considerations including security, authenticity of documents, etc.

 

This is being ironed out and we are finding solutions as we move on.

 

Question:

On the issue of whether there is political will to establish a One Stop Shop and you relate what has happened in Rwanda saying they were able around their challenges …

 

Deputy President’s response:

Yes, the political will is there. This emanates from a number of discussions we have had with various role-players in our country – the business community, the NGO community – have raised this repeatedly and have said that if we are to move towards more meaningful economic growth, then we must address this regulatory logjam that business and investors have to contend with. And indeed we have to iron out a number of processes that involve various departments.

 

When people relate their challenges in establishing a business, we realise that there are a number of role-players from whom you must seek buy-in and co-operation.

 

The political will being there means that these are the types of issues that must be ironed out. And the One Stop Shop will address these types of bureaucratic hurdles. We are calibrating this to a point of knowing what it means for someone to set up a business in, for instance Bloemfontein, Pretoria, etc so that the various departments can align their systems to deliver the desired end as we have agreed through our political will.

 

I am confident that we will be able to deliver this solution.  We may not achieve Rwanda’s time frames – three hours – but it does mean that the ease of doing business is going to get better and people will find it easier to do business in South Africa.

 

Question:

On the issue of irrigation systems, energy and saving water ….

 

Deputy President’s response:

Yes, this has been a concern that has been raised and we are very alive to the concerns that have been raised in this regard. This is part of the 9 point plan that we have adopted to ensure that from a policy point of view we can have more certainty so that those business people with whom we deal, they can be sure that the government will do what it says it will do.

 

In terms of the examples you were providing – where a state owned entity seemed to be doing things to contradict the policy framework – these are actually operational matters. These are not policy matters. This matter is in hand and is being handled.

 

As we go forward, such instances will be in the past – particularly as we streamline the way in which our State Owned Entities function and are governed. This is also a governance issue.

 

Question:

On the issue of visas, what do we look at – security at the expense of economics or vice versa?

 

Deputy President’s response:

We are a government. We do not gamble. When we do things, we have to have a balance. We must take into account the interests of those who want to travel to South Africa and these economic benefits and also take into account the security of the country. This is the mandate we have. We cannot drop one at the expense of another. We have to look at both and work in a balanced manner. We must look at the evidence that we are dealing with and then take the necessary decisions.

 

We are attempting to make it easier to travel to South Africa but we must look at the security issues.

 

Question:

On the issue of co-ordination particularly through the PICC…

 

Deputy President’s response:

Yes, this has yielded a lot of benefits. What is has enabled us to do is to have greater focus on all our infrastructure projects countrywide. We can assess what is happening from a glance at a dashboard including ascertaining how projects are being funded. This is a huge benefit and it is very important that we have this type of co-ordination going forward.

 

Question:

What else does South Africa have to showcase besides the Independent Power Producers Programme …

 

Deputy President’s response:

We have many things to showcase. For instance, when we build dams, we know that we look at the quality of the concrete, getting the water into the dams, etc. But we have lost focus in terms of reticulating the water at the district level and making sure that there are pipes which will be able to move the water to the townships or the villages. We are able to work on this because of the information and co-ordination we now have at our disposal.

 

The same can be said about the building of hospitals – we can be pleased that we built a big hospital but we are now able to co-ordinate getting the hospitals staffed and able to deliver services.

 

Co-ordination has also helped us to deal with the issue of pricing – for instance, a bag of cement can be priced differently for different projects and because of our co-ordination, we now know how much cement costs for each project.

 

Question:

Our colleague from Kenya would like to know when the new visa regulations will come into effect?

 

Deputy President’s response:

I cannot confirm dates but having been announced by the Minister of Home Affairs, I am confident that this will be done at great speed. The cost will not contribute to South Africa becoming instantly wealthy; this is aimed at ensuring that people can travel with ease at a moderate cost.