“The growth of the economy depends on the development of the south African region.”
This was said by president Cyril Ramaphosa while responding to a Parliamentary debate on his Sona 2021 in the National Assembly on Thursday
Delivering his reply Ramaphosa said that South Africa is a country of great agricultural promise.
“We are a producer and exporter of a wide variety of agricultural products.
“The investment we are making in agriculture and agro-processing will enable us to fully realise the potential of this great renewable resource,” said Ramaphosa.
The president said that however, to be successful, South Africa needs to align agricultural development with an effective and accelerated land redistribution programme.
“We should not, as some Honourable Members do, see a trade-off between land reform and agriculture output. They must be complementary and mutually-reinforcing,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that providing more land to many more South Africans, along with the means to productively work it, is not only about correcting a past wrong; it is also about building a prosperous and more inclusive future.
Turning into the mining industry, Ramaphosa said the wealth that lies beneath our soil has been central to our country’s economy for nearly 150 years.
“However, this wealth has not been equally shared amongst the people of South Africa.
“We have extensive reserves of some of the world’s most valuable minerals and extensive mining expertise.
“Mining was one of the sectors of our economy that recovered significantly following the easing of domestic and global lockdown restrictions.”
