SURE KAMHUNGA: Business and the government need each other more than ever

For the first time in months some of the country’s top business leaders and organisations representing the private sector have been unanimous in their frustration about what they perceive to be a tardy government that is playing Russian roulette with the struggling economy.

There is clear evidence that business executives are losing patience with the government, having given it the benefit of the doubt when President Cyril Ramaphosa took over as leader of the most advanced economy in Africa with a promise to usher in a new dawn. That, together with a commitment to be more engaging and collaborative with business and other social partners, injected a new dose of optimism that the so-called nine wasted years under the Zuma administration would be redeemed.

Be that as it may, the government has been slow to respond to other key macroeconomicic shocks and challenges, including accelerating structural reforms to unlock the potential for growth. Added to this is the worsening electricity crisis and poor infrastructure, particularly the rail and port sector, with warnings that Transnet is fast becoming another Eskom disaster given the growing inefficiency at the ports and crumbling rail infrastructure.

The message coming from the business leaders is that the government is good at acknowledging the problems facing the economy, and also acknowledging their suggestions. Where it fails dismally is in decision-making and implementation. There is intense frustration with the policy inertia and bureaucracy that is choking the life out of an economy that is struggling to grow enough to sustain job creation and improve living standards for the poor in particular.

One therefore hopes that the noises being made by business leaders will inject urgency into the government to collaborate further to address the concerns they have raised.This is not to say there is nothing positive happening; examples abound of what is taking place in the renewable energy sector, the successful four investment conferences held so far, the growth in the e-commerce sector and big-ticket investments some companies have been announcing.

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