President Cyril Ramaphosa brought his branding of a “new dawn” in South Africa to London as he promised to unveil incentives to attract $100 billion in investment.
Ramaphosa, 65, has been working to convince investors that he’s committed to reversing years of economic stagnation, policy uncertainty and looting of state funds since succeeding Jacob Zuma as president two months ago. So far he’s fired some ministers and replaced the boards of several troubled state companies.
“We will have well-crafted incentives that will attract people,” Ramaphosa said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television in London, where he’s attending a Commonwealth Summit and met with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II. “Some of them may well be tax incentives or general industrial incentives.”
Ramaphosa is seeking $100 billion in new investment and this week named four “envoys,” including former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and ex-Standard Bank Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Jacko Maree, to travel the world seeking commitments.
Earlier at a lunch with investors at Bloomberg’s offices, he said his government is determined to fight corruption.
“We are putting in place measures to clean up,” Ramaphosa said. “It’s going to take some time, but we are at it.”
Yet his effort to sell South Africa as an investment destination has been hindered by the ruling party’s decision to back land seizures. He repeatedly addressed the issue, saying hunger for farmland is rife but his government will respect the constitution as it works to redress the imbalance of ownership.
