Busi Mavuso, the CEO of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), says that private business has positively impacted critical areas across the country, mainly through skills acquisition and the allocation of experienced people – even those who have retired.
Mavuso noted that the private sector has collaborated with the government and civil society to boost the economy, stimulate investment and boost employment.
BLSA represents business interests in South Africa and is a stakeholder through which government acknowledges policy considerations or initiatives key to best business practices.
Writing in her final weekly letter of 2022, she outlined the achievements of BLSA as well as what may be in store for the private sector stepping in the following year.
She said that BLSA has worked to support the criminal justice system in dealing with legacy issues associated with state capture.
The group had signed a memorandum of understating with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to support the technical skills it needs to build its cases, prosecute them and stand independent, said Mavuso.
Skills development has been necessary to support the government with professionalism. Mavuso said: “Another legacy of state capture is that many parts of the government were stripped of their most talented and capable employees. ”
Big business has collaborated with the presidency to develop a new framework to ensure an appropriate recruitment process to pin down talented people based on capabilities – not politics, said Mavuso.
Through the private sector, skilled individuals are also being sourced, on an interim basis, to support local governments in South Africa that may require specialist skills such as engineering, said Mavuso.
Through the Assistance Mentorship Development (TAMDEV) programme, retirees are identified and seconded to support municipalities to recover and develop their infrastructure to be able to provide improved services, said Mavuso.
With regard to the energy crisis, the group took it into its own hands to work alongside policymakers to change key regulations around the private generation of electricity.
“The fastest way to get new energy capacity up and running is to allow companies to generate it for themselves. This reduces pressure on the grid and ensures companies can operate with less disruption,” said Mavuso.
Through the support of the Presidential State-Owned Entities Council; (PSEC), BLSA has worked on the recovery of state-owned enterprises through the identification and seconding of retirees with lots of experience in SOEs to support the council.
Mavuso said her group is also supporting the government’s red tape task team.
“This is one area where I think we will make more progress in 2023. Many aspects of doing business in South Africa are harder and more expensive than needed, which needlessly constrains economic activity.”
Policy developments
Apart from various programmes, BLSA is engaged on multiple fronts of policy development, says the CEO.
Big business has supported Operation Vulindlela, the president and National Treasury’s plan to speed up infrastructure projects, by overcoming obstacles to implement the agreed policy.
“This work has helped to resolve policy blockages over skilled immigrant visas, rural water pricing and the processing of water use applications, all to improve the ability of businesses to operate and invest,” said Mavuso.
There has been little continuity of economic policy in SA since 1994 despite the ANC being in power, said Mavuso. “As a result, we do not have the luxury of reaping the longer-term benefits of policy consistency would bring.”
Unfortunately, the factional nature of the ANC has transformed critical issues, such as building a secure energy supply and reforming our transport logistics systems, into political contestation areas.