Govt, business talk investment
Shaun Benton
6 April 2005
South Africa's potential as a site for international business outsourcing, particularly for job-creating call centres, was a key element of the latest round of discussions between government and business in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Although President Thabo Mbeki did not attend, several Cabinet ministers held talks at Tuynhuys with a number of the country's business leaders, including Cyril Ramaphosa of Johnnic, Saki Macozoma of Safika Holdings and Bobby Godsell of AngloGold Ashanti.
South Africa 'all clear for take-off' - Ten of the world's most powerful businessmen tell President Thabo Mbeki that SA is better placed than ever before to take economic growth and job creation onto a
higher plane.
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Key issues raised included the need for a vigorous programme for skills development and a more focused development of sector strategies, particularly regarding job creation and sales expansion, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said after the meeting.
Concerns around implementation capacity were raised, and business called for a bolder approach from the government to ensure higher economic growth and development.
David Brink of construction company Murray and Roberts told journalists afterwards that the government's programme of action was "very action-orientated", but said that business and government had to move fast to attract call centre operators to South Africa.
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Hot line from the Cape - SA call centre numbers are expected to double in the next four years - and Cape Town is hotter than India when it comes to service, recent research says.
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Both parties agreed on the need for a more co-ordinated approach to developing South Africa's potential for hosting call centres, through facilitating permission for firms, boosting infrastructure and creating enticements.
This potential lies in the fact that South Africa is an English-language environment in the same time zone as most of Europe, placing the country well against competitors like India, the Philippines, Hungary and China.
Other key issues discussed
were the performance of the country's sector education and training authorities (Setas) in developing much-needed skills. Business proposed a high-level task team to examine the performance of Setas.
South Africa's hosting of the Soccer World Cup in 2010 came up, with the parties agreeing on the need to work together around preparing for this.
There was also discussion around the implementation of the recently released report of the Commission for Africa and the need for "leading lights" in the G7 group of industrialised countries to "profile Africa differently" - to highlight the continent as a key place to do business.
The perennial problem of increasing investment - not only foreign but also internal investment - was also discussed.
Bink said "the government has done so well over the last 10 years" with fiscal restraint, managing the economy and keeping inflation under control, that there were now opportunities to find new ways of increasing
investment.
Source: BuaNews
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