High-speed internet for all, bridges, roads, harbours ... it's all happening, says Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the completion of the spectrum auction has contributed R14bn to the fiscus, and when digital migration of the television signal is completed it will release new frequencies for 5G and reduce the cost of data.

“During the course of this year, we will migrate the remaining households to digital television signal and complete the switch-off of analogue transmission. This will release valuable spectrum for the rollout of 5G mobile networks and will reduce the cost of data,” he said in his state of the nation address on Thursday.

“These actions will bring us closer to our vision of affordable, high-speed internet access for all.”

Reflecting on his investment drive, Ramaphosa said the commitments made by several companies during the investment conferences that South Africa hosted have resulted in those companies investing in new factories, call centres, solar power plants, undersea fibreoptic cables, expansion of production lines and the adoption of new technologies.

“In the state of the nation address last year, we said that we would concentrate our efforts on mobilising greater levels of investment, which is essential to growing the economy and creating jobs. We said we would give impetus to the campaign that we embarked on nearly five years ago to raise R1.2-trillion in new investment.”

Ramaphosa said in 2022, the fourth SA Investment Conference raised R367bn in investment commitments, bringing the five-year investment target firmly within sight.

“Importantly, these investments have resulted in new jobs and new opportunities for small emerging businesses,” he said.

The fifth SA Investment Conference will be on April 13. At this conference, he said, SA will set a new target to mobilise more than R2-trillion in new investment by 2028.

The investments that have flowed into the economy to date have contributed to a substantial increase in local production, said Ramaphosa.

On the country’s infrastructure build programme, Ramaphosa said one of the greatest obstacles to infrastructure investment was the lack of technical skills and project management capacity. To fix this, Infrastructure South Africa has been allocated R600m for project preparation, specifically in rural and under-resourced areas.

“The support and planning mechanisms that we have put in place over several years are now starting to bear fruit in increased public investment in infrastructure.

“By January this year, projects worth R232bn were under construction and projects worth nearly R4bn  had been completed,” he said.

The completed projects include new human settlements in Gauteng, road upgrades and the development of small harbours.

In a major development, the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) has awarded road construction contracts worth R18bn in the past three months, he said.

“The construction of the Msikaba bridge and Mtentu bridge will be finished and make travel in the Eastern Cape much better. This investment will substantially benefit the construction industry and enable large-scale job creation, skills development and poverty relief, especially in nearby rural communities.”

Last year, Ramaphosa promised to increase the construction of rural bridges as part of the Welisizwe programme, to enable residents to easily and safely reach schools, workplaces and amenities. On Thursday night he said 24 bridges were under construction in KwaZulu-Natal and site preparations were being made for a further 24 bridges.

To address youth unemployment, Ramaphosa said, the Employment Tax Incentive has been expanded to encourage businesses to hire more young people in large numbers.

He said the red tape reduction team in the presidency under Sipho Nkosi, which he announced last year to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy, has been working with various departments to make it easier to do business.

“It has taken a collaborative approach, working with departments and agencies in areas such as the mining rights system, tourism transport operator licences, visas and work permits, early childhood development and the informal sector.

“This year, we will finalise amendments to the Businesses Act to reduce regulatory impediments for SMMEs and co-operatives and make it easier for entrepreneurs to start businesses,” said Ramaphosa.

Through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, the government plans to provide R1.4bn  in financing to more than 90,000 entrepreneurs. The government, in partnership with the SA SME Fund, is working to establish a R10bn fund to support SMME growth, he added.

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