Ministers, business leaders and Team South Africa as a whole,
Representatives of our hosts, the World Economic Forum,

Good day to you all in this beautiful Davos!

I am very proud to be part of a very strong delegation of fellow countrymen and women who are here for this year’s chapter of the annual World Economic Forum meeting.

The World Economic Forum meetings have proven to be a very important event on the international economic calendar, for us and many nations around the world.

The Forum represents a necessary platform for leaders from government, business, and civil society across the world to deliberate on challenges and most importantly to influence on opportunities that those challenges may present.

South Africa has a strong showing in Davos each year. That is because of the unity of purpose of the South African delegation. We come here very clear about what we are coming to achieve.

We come here each year to tell the story of our beautiful country and its successes.

We do so with confidence because the positive attributes and progress made by South Africa since 1994 far outweigh the challenges that we face as a developing country with a particular history of enforced inequality and exclusion.

This year’s meeting happens in yet another difficult time in the global economic environment.

Fears of a slowdown in China are fuelling concerns about global growth prospects.

Lower commodity prices have also seen prospects of economic recovery in developing countries fade. The cloud of uncertainty has resulted in volatility in capital markets.

This has also put severe strain on investments in developing economies and their currencies.

Despite a very unfavourable economic backdrop, the South African economy has been very resilient.

Although remaining short of our growth ambitions, the country’s stability in the macro and fiscal framework and a diverse economy have shielded the economy from the full impact of the lower commodity prices which has hit developing economies.

Although commodity prices remain our key export earner, growth in the services sector has provided much needed cushion.

We need, as a country, to leverage further on this diversity.

Our participation in this forum, compatriots and friends, is underpinned by clear objectives.

We want to raise the level of foreign investment in our country. Therefore, our message remains clear. South Africa is open for business.

Secondly, we want to further expand the footprint of our companies on the continent and globally.

We are here to say to investors that South Africa is where they should be, and we have very good reasons for saying so. We have a relatively diversified economic base.

We have an economy that offers world class business services in areas such as information and communication technology, transport and logistics, and financial and professional services.

Our country is becoming a frontier for new sectors of Foreign Direct Investment such as the green economy, oil and gas and ocean economy sectors such as shipbuilding.

We are investing time and money in energy security to contribute to economic growth, and efforts to expand our energy supply and sources are continuing.

We are diversifying our energy mix and have attracted substantial private sector investment in clean energy, through the Renewables Independent Power Producers Programme.

This has been a flagship programme for us. It highlights the synergies that can be generated when the public and private sector work together.

The government is currently evaluating bids for coal Independent Power Purchases from the first bid window which will total two thousand five hundred megawatts of power when completed.

The government is also preparing the procurement of three thousand one hundred (3100) megawatts of gas to power.

With regards to the ease of doing business in our country, let me emphasise that we have heard the suggestions from business at home and abroad.

Domestic and international investors have appealed to government to help ease constraints and unnecessary bureaucratic delays and make South Africa more investor-friendly.

In response, our Government will be introducing an “Invest South Africa” (InvestSA) initiative during the course of the year.

Work has already begun to establish an interdepartmental clearing house or one stop shop service which will be rolled to all provinces. I have established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Investment to work on this important project, which I personally chair, assisted by the Minister of Trade and Industry.

Our government also offers a range of business and investment incentives across various sectors.

These programmes have yielded substantial inward investments over the years, most notable in the automotive sector, demonstrated by the expansions or new investments that we have seen in recent times in the country.

We are aware that improved communications and predictability of government policy are important to support investment by the private sector. This will be one of the key tasks of the IMC.

Government also decided that from 1 September 2015 all future legislation and regulations will be subject to a socio-economic impact assessment before being passed.

This process will promote greater policy coordination.

Let me reiterate that our National Development Plan Vision 2030 remains our blueprint for socio-economic development and we continue to implement it.

Last year, as part of implementing the NDP, we introduced a Nine Point Plan to ignite growth and create jobs.

The Plan entails intensive work in the following areas:

a. Revitalisation of the agriculture and agro-processing value-chain;
b. Advancing beneficiation and adding value to our mineral wealth;
c. More effective implementation of a higher impact Industrial Policy Action Plan;
d. Unlocking the potential of SMME, co-operatives, township and rural enterprises;
e. Resolving the energy challenge;
f. Stabilising the labour market;
g. Scaling-up private-sector investment and
h. Growing the Ocean Economy as well as cross-cutting areas to Reform, Boost and Diversify the Economy.

The cross-cutting areas are science, technology and innovation, water and sanitation, Transport infrastructure, Broadband rollout and State owned companies.

We want to continue working with you as the business sector, to ensure that our economy improves performance in these areas.

We have all the confidence, that through the partnerships formulated through WEF and other forums, we will continue to strengthen South Africa’s position as a preferred choice for investment.

Compatriots and friends,

I am sure that all of you have enjoyed the sessions thus far, and have engaged robustly in the discussions under theme of the Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Let us continue to engage and communicate the opportunities that exist in our beautiful country.

South Africa, like many developing countries, faces challenges in the current global economic context, and also based on its unfortunate history.

The key advantage we have, is that working together as South Africans, we always find solutions to our challenges. In this way, our country will certainly prosper.

And indeed that South Africa is open for business!

I thank you ladies and gentlemen.

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria