Privatisation isn’t a swear word, Mashatile tells the FT
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Deputy President Paul Mashatile told the Financial Times that the ANC has accepted that "bringing private sector money on board is not selling your soul". The party no longer thinks of privatisation as a "swear word", he added.
Over the past week, Mashatile led a ministerial delegation on a trip to the UK, where government representatives courted investors – including JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs – for investments in energy, water and freight-rail projects.
READ | Mashatile concludes UK trip to woo investment in trade, skills, tourism
They are hoping to tap into improved foreign sentiment about South Africa following the establishment of the business-friendly government of national unity (GNU), along with an easing in electricity woes and a local rate cut.
South African shares have rallied, with the JSE enjoying its best third quarter in more than a decade. Government bonds have also strengthened, and the rand is now 9% stronger than a year ago, which has helped to cut local fuel prices to the cheapest levels in more than two years.
Following various clashes between the DA and ANC, Mashatile acknowledged that "it won't be a smooth ride", but expressed confidence that the GNU will still be around in five years.
"If you sit around the table with ministers in the government of national unity, you would not know who's ANC and who's DA," he told the FT.
Still, he said the ANC was keeping "the door open" for the Economic Freedom Fighters – although they could only join if they accept the GNU’s basic principles.
The EFF refused to join the DA in a GNU, with its leader Julius Malema recently telling president Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament that he "chose the side of the oppressor".
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