Zuma wants faster government

President Jacob Zuma wants to speed up the way the government works.

Zuma told a business breakfast meeting on Tuesday that he had tried to change a number of things since being elected president but the government's slowness still bothered him.

"Government is very slow in doing things," he said.

"If there is a form to be signed they will do it tomorrow. If I could change that I would be very happy."

He had made a number of changes since being elected, including introducing the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation to make the government work better.

Among other things, the government was tackling the problem of failing to its pay suppliers on time.

This was having a negative effect on small businesses, he said.

"We have sent an unambiguous message to the director-generals of government departments to take personal responsibility for this anomaly as accounting officers.

"We expect regular reports on payments made to suppliers," he said.

Zuma said the government was doing everything necessary to make it easy to invest in South Africa.

"We are a very attractive investment destination."

The government could never be the principal provider of jobs.

Its role was to create an enabling environment through progressive policies and progress.

Africa would remain South Africa's primary focus area as it built an economy connected to the rest of world, Zuma said.