UK and US warn state capture could put Cyril Ramaphosa's investment drive at risk

03 February 2019 - 00:00
By RANJENI MUNUSAMY
International investors have asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with state capture effectively.
Image: Themba Hadebe / POOL / AFP International investors have asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with state capture effectively.

The failure to bring a single state capture case to court is threatening President Cyril Ramaphosa’s investment drive.

Five world powers, which are responsible for 75% of foreign direct investment in SA, have submitted a joint memorandum to the presidency warning Ramaphosa about jitters amongst their investors concerning the rule of law in SA.

The governments of Germany, Britain, the US, The Netherlands and Switzerland have also expressed concern that “constant changes of the goalposts” in the regulatory framework for mining broad-based BEE targets and scorecards, and intellectual property rights are proving to be “obstacles” to foreign investment.

The move is a signal that Ramaphosa’s “new dawn” campaign to stimulate economic growth by attracting $100bn over five years might be on shaky ground.

Presidency spokeswoman Khusela Diko confirmed receipt of “correspondence from representatives of a number of countries with significant investment in South Africa”.

Read the full story in the Sunday Times.