Citizens’ action must find echo in corporate grit

28 August 2016 - 02:00 By JABU MABUZA

It has often been said that we live in a loud, robust and vibrant democracy. Even though this may seem like a cliché, these attributes of South Africa were once again prominently displayed during the past week's events relating to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.It is more evident than ever that by far the majority of our country wants what is best for the economy, and to get on with the work we need to make this possible.It has been encouraging to see so many areas of civil society, academia and business - and ordinary citizens - raise their voices in support of the efforts to stabilise and strengthen our economy.The spontaneous turnout of ordinary South Africans on Thursday at the offices of the Hawks to express their opposition to actions that negatively impact on the national interest is heartening.While recent events may tempt us to become despondent, now is the time to keep working. As a business leader of more than 28 years in this country, I know these times may seem dark, but I also know that we have been through worse and came out stronger on the other side.story_article_left1For the first time in our young democracy's history, business, labour and the government have come together, put our differences aside and focused on our common goal of creating inclusive growth for a more equal society.We are all committed to fixing our economy and making it more resolute and sustainable for the long term.Before dismissing this as "just more plans", consider that in the mere eight months since this group started working together in the face of a possible credit rating downgrade to sub-investment grade, we have progressed rapidly with plans to stimulate the economy and alleviate unemployment.One of the major achievements has been the establishment of an SME fund, which will identify small and medium enterprises with great potential and invest in these while mentoring the businesses' leaders.This fund has been spearheaded by some of South Africa's most successful entrepreneurs, and local companies have put their money where their mouths are by already pledging more than R1-billion as capital to this effort.For me, there is hardly a better sign of the commitment that our business leaders have to the future of the country.Simultaneously, a group of corporate bankers and industry experts has been tasked to find investment opportunities in eight high-potential sectors, including agriculture, tourism and small and medium enterprises.This group has identified those common blockages that hinder investments and these are being addressed by the relevant government departments. Encouragingly, there have been a number of areas that have proved ripe for investment, and these projects are being fast-tracked.One of South Africa's greatest challenges - and an area of particular concern for the ratings agencies - is that of youth unemployment. A specialist group's resources have been dedicated to finding ways in which to make a dent in this. The team is looking at interventions that could significantly increase the number of young people accessing the workplace.story_article_right2The first port of call has been to investigate where successful existing initiatives can be expanded to accommodate more people, and effort is also going into equipping young people with more - and more appropriate - skills.This includes using underutilised company training facilities to increase opportunities for learning, and emphasising the attractiveness of artisanal and technical skills development.I do not naively believe that these (and other efforts under way) will be a magic wand that will immediately take our problems away. We are, after all, part of a highly globalised economy and subject to the same forces that churn emerging markets.However, I am confident that we are seeing the right kind of action and continued commitment from all stakeholders, the sort that will put our country on the road to true, long-term prosperity.We echo the sentiments of the minister of finance that there is a lot of work yet to be done in a difficult economic environment.South Africa's business leaders believe in this country, and will continue to show their commitment by working hard and investing to strengthen our economy.Mabuza is chairman of Telkom, president of Business Unity South Africa and a member of the Presidential Business Working Group..

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