(Bloomberg) — A draft policy document compiled by South Africa’s governing party suggests the private sector play a greater role in the economy, a proposition that’s favored by President Cyril Ramaphosa and provides further evidence of a shift in thinking in an organization that’s traditionally backed state-led growth.
The African National Congress document, seen by Bloomberg, recommends that private companies invest in infrastructure and take over state-owned firms. It also envisions businesses and individuals donating land to kickstart a program to improve access for Black farmers.
Efforts to revive an economy have foundered in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and nine years of misrule under Ramaphosa’s predecessor, Jacob Zuma, during which the government estimates more than 500 billion rand ($32 billion) was stolen — mainly from state companies. Many of the firms are now dependent on government bailouts and the country’s ailing power utility, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., has subjected the country to an increasing number of electricity outages, known locally as load-shedding.
The government has faced criticism for displaying inertia in addressing the energy shortages and clearing bureaucratic hurdles to investment. In February Ramaphosa called for a more conducive environment for business to create jobs.
The ANC has an alliance with the South African Communist Party and retains strong ties with Russia and Cuba, and it previously adopted proposals to establish a state bank, nationalize the central bank and make it easier to seize land without compensation.
“Programs to unlock wider access to land ownership have not been effective or sufficiently ambitious in scale,” the ANC said in the document dated April. “The mobilization of investment in new productive capacity has been inadequate and in the past 15 years has been severely constrained by load-shedding due to the shortage of electricity. All this has been further worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Pule Mabe, a spokesman for the ANC, didn’t respond to requests for comment. The document’s preparation comes ahead of the party’s policy conference, which will take place later this year.
Land Donations
A key plank of the party’s draft recommendations is that the Land Reform and Agricultural Development Agency proposed by the government facilitate land donations and reward those companies with recognition for boosting Black participation in the economy, a requirement to do business with the state.
Other proposals in the document entitled ‘Strengthening Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Towards an Inclusive Economy’ include:
Steps be taken to boost exploration for gas and so-called green metals — nickel, vanadium, copper, cobalt and platinum
The government should work with the private sector to implement at least 10 “high-impact” infrastructure projects in the 2022-23 fiscal year
Support for the creation of green hydrogen and electric-vehicle industries.
South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper reported on the document earlier.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
