The minister of public enterprises says people both locally and globally must understand the ‘terrible legacy’ of colonialism and apartheid.
Minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan addressed the Financial Times Africa summit held in London on Monday. During Gordhan’s address, he told those in attendance that President Ramaphosa offers the best prospect of turning the economy around.
Gordhan gave a detailed outline of Ramaphosa’s investment drive and also explained that trust in state institutions such as Sars has taken a knock.
“We had one of the best revenue services, built over 10 years… damaged in one year,” he said.
In relation to land, Gordhan defended the ANC’s policy, saying “our priority is still to get people both inside and outside the country to understand that colonialism and apartheid left us with a terrible legacy.”
He emphasised that the issue of land needs to be dealt with now or it will continue to hurt the South African economy. It appears as if Gordhan is taking cues from president Cyril Ramaphosa on how to present the idea of land expropriation without compensation in a way that would not discourage potential investment in South Africa.
Ramaphosa while speaking to the House of Traditional Leaders at the beginning of the year, said that people should not panic about the fact that the constitution is likely to change to allow land expropriation without compensation.
-The Citizen
