Highlighting efforts to secure economic growth, President Cyril Ramaphosa said funding to the tune of R3.9bn had been released to support black commercial farmers through the Land Bank.
The President provided an update on actions to ignite economic activity to the National Assembly on Thursday, 22 August, in his first session of Questions for Oral Reply since his election in May 2019.
He mentioned changes made to visa regulations for tourists and highly skilled professionals, financial support for black farmers and black industrialists and the upgrading and creation of industrial parks as evidence of government’s efforts to secure economic growth and deal with unemployment.
The President also said trade measures had been in place to safeguard key agricultural sectors like the poultry industry, protecting local jobs in the process.
Making it easier to do business in South Africa, the Ports Authority of South Africa reduced tariffs by 6% in late 2018, while also decreasing container and automotive cargo dues.
On agrarian reform, the President said funding to the tune of R3.9bn had been released to support black commercial farmers through the Land Bank.
“To promote greater certainty in the use of land for productive activities, more than 1 400 30-year leases have been finalized,” he said.
Ramaphosa added that In June, a number of Chinese companies signed agreements with their South African counterparts to buy more than R25 billion of South African goods.
This, he said, will help to boost production, growth, and jobs in the local economy.
