Business has a crucial role to play in the reconstruction of South Africa, ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa said on Tuesday.
“When I say this, I also mean that the ANC government should increase its interaction with business on matters of policy that impact on the day to day management of businesses,” he told delegates at a Progressive Business Forum lunch in Port Elizabeth.
“Job creation is a crucial issue in South Africa today and the most important issue that we should address going forward with our economic policy. I also believe that our government has learnt a number of lessons in the recent past.
“We should be a listening government that interacts passionately and regularly with all our constituencies and non-constituencies. We should be a participative government that works not only for the people but with the people. We should also be a transparent government that should be accountable for what we do as was the case in the recent local government elections,” Phosa said.
The local government election was now over and all should now look to the future and not the past.
“I want to plead that we take a notion and principle of reconciliation further so that we also reconcile across party-political alliances to make South Africa a better place to live in.
“I want to reiterate what I have said on numerous occasions: South Africa belongs to all who live in it and not only some of us. In this definition I include all minorities whether they are of race, culture or language,” he said.
Phosa added: “Our aim should be on increased service delivery on all three levels of government. If we get our service delivery structures in place it will also make a substantial contribution to sustainable job creation.”
“In summary, let us walk away from everything that divides us, and has divided us in the recent past. Let us make service delivery and job creation our over-arching and non-partisan goals,” he said. — Sapa