STAFF REPORTER|
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says 28 years into democracy, there are still barriers preventing black entrepreneurs from meaningful and equitable participation in the economy.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the opening of the inaugural Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.
The conference was attended by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, President of COSATU Zingiswa Losi and members of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council, representatives of business and industry, and leaders of the Black Business Council (BBC) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA).
He said black entrepreneurs continue to have difficulty accessing finance, markets, technology and infrastructure.
There is also red tape and other bureaucratic obstacles, said Ramaphosa.
“On a wider scale, there is also the concentrated nature of the economy and ownership patterns, and exclusion from major value-chains,” said Ramaphosa.
“While we are here to deliberate on learnings from the Black Industrialists Programme and other initiatives, this conference is also about shifting the transformation agenda into higher gear.”
He said at the end of the conference was a new, improved trajectory for broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE).
“We want a frank conversation about impediments to the expansion of black business, not just from government, but from the private sector as well,” said Ramaphosa.
“We need to talk about private sector procurement, about value chains, about access to financing for emerging black business and about how existing systems militate against emerging black business.”
He said government needed to discuss the far-reaching reforms it is taking in telecommunications, energy and water to improve the competitiveness of our economy and reduce the cost of doing business.
“These reforms are all necessary if we are to create conditions that enable black industrialists to emerge, to grow and to flourish,” he said.
“In particular, we need to act decisively and urgently to end the load shedding that is causing such damage to our economy and such disruption to our society.”
“Like every other actor in the economy, black industrialists can simply not grow without a reliable supply of affordable energy.”
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