Mec Alan Winde on National Cabinet Reshuffle

Five points for members of the new cabinet to get our economy back on trackPresident Cyril Ramaphosa's new cabinet will have their work cut out for them as they set about making the president's commitment to the National Development Plan in South Africa a reality.Finance:Minister Nhlanhla Nene is no stranger to the demanding job requirements of the National Treasury, but he inherits a low-growth economy that is unable to keep pace with the job creation requirements of the country.

MEC of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, said "We congratulate minister Nene on his return to the Treasury. Minister Nene is seen to be credible by the markets and we hope that he will be able to guide the country out of the economic doldrums it currently finds itself in.

""South Africa has seen business confidence slip to all-time lows in recent months. Minister Nhlanhla Nene must focus on securing as much foreign direct investment into the South African economy as possible to ensure growth and create jobs.

To do this, he will need to build business confidence with a message of policy certainty, cutting red tape and increasing the ease of doing business in the country."Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, said "A key focus of Minister Nene must be to help attract high levels of foreign direct investment into South Africa.

If this happens, we will grow our tax revenue, employ more people, and facilitate economic growth. But this will require cutting the red tape that stands in the way of business, and shifting the international narrative about our economy, including tackling head-on concerns over policy uncertainty, corruption, and the various constraints identified by the ratings agencies.

"Tourism:We welcome Minister Derek Hanekom back to the tourism portfolio. As President Ramaphosa said in his SONA speech, tourism employs 700000 people in this country.

By focusing on growing this sector, Minister Hanekom and his department have the opportunity to seed the emergence of entrepreneurs across the hospitality value chain. "We'd like to see the Minister working closely with Home Affairs to enable visitors to gain easy access to our destination, with technology playing a key role," said Winde.

Home Affairs:"Minister Malusi Gigaba's visa debacle during his last turn at Home Affairs created serious problems for the country's tourism industry. For this reason he became known as the 'tourism terminator'.

Minister Gigaba has been tasked with assisting President Ramaphosa to achieve...