The South African government is committed to implementing new policies to attract investment in various sectors, said a government official on Thursday.
The acting deputy director general of inward investment attraction, facilitation and aftercare at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Yunus Hoosen, made the remarks while commenting about phase two of the Investment Climate Reform Program (ICRP) which the government is seized with. He said the program seeks to improve business environment competitiveness, investment attraction and promotion.
“In June this year, we reached a milestone of completing phase one of the Prosperity RSA and Private Sector Competitiveness Program which focused on business regulatory reform, competition policy and market regulation and investment policy promotion. The program yielded quantifiable investments and tangible results such as the flagship development of the bizportal and the City of Johannesburg’s online permitting system,” said Yunus.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Director for Southern Africa and Nigeria, Kevin Njiraini, welcomed South Africa for working with various stakeholders to make the environment conducive for investment.
“We have worked closely with government partners under phase one of the IFC’s investment climate project to advance more than 15 reforms that led to increased investments across multiple sectors of the economy. South Africa’s government’s request for phase two is testament to the value that the project has created,” he said.
South Africa is on the investment drive to lure investment into the country to create jobs and grow the economy. Yunus said the government is prioritizing creating an enabling business environment and the removal of red tape.