The Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) has urged the government to position SA on a path of rapid economic growth due to the changing global environment.
It has also stressed the importance of technological advances in AI and of confronting climate change.
President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the inaugural meeting of the newly appointed PEAC at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday evening.
PEAC members include prominent economists and technical experts drawn from academia and the private sector, including Wandile Sihlobo, Antonio Andreoni, Kenneth Creamer, Alan Hirsch and Kuben Naidoo, the former deputy governor of the SA Reserve Bank.
“The Presidential Economic Advisory Council will play an important role in providing independent advice as we seek to ensure that our economic policy is informed by sound evidence, by innovation, and by a diversity of views and opinions,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
The presidency confirmed that the council discussed proposals to advance issues such as international taxation, reform of multilateral development banks and climate finance.
These are important issues as SA will host the Group of 20 (G20) summit of leaders later in the year.
“A key topic of discussion was SA’s role in advancing the global economic policy agenda as it assumes the presidency of the G20. President Ramaphosa has outlined a set of clear and actionable priorities for the G20 presidency, which include mobilising finance to support a just [energy] transition, addressing the unsustainable debt burden on developing countries, strengthening disaster resilience and response, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development,” the presidency said.
The G20 is an international forum of developing and developed countries that seeks to find solutions to global economic and financial challenges.
The presidency said that the “necessity of structural transformation” and economic reforms to accelerate economic growth were discussed at Tuesday’s PEAC meeting. “Forward-looking policy proposals” in areas such as green industrial policy, skills development and macroeconomic policy were also discussed.
The PEAC is expected to play a more significant role in guiding SA’s economic policy as the government of national unity (GNU) draws up the Medium Term Development Plan ahead of the state of the nation address in February.
PEAC members are expected to be included in SA’s delegation to the G20 leaders summit in November as the country tries to woo private sector investment for big infrastructure projects that are needed to get SA’s economy moving.
Ramaphosa is likely to meet big business on Thursday to address the bottlenecks at SA’s ports, which have been underperforming for decades.
During Ramaphosa’s meeting with 150 leading CEOs late last year, a pledge was signed between the government and business in SA to try to get SA to achieve 3% economic growth by the end of 2025.
The Bureau for Economic Research said late last year an investment of R2-trillion over the next 10 years in new electricity and cheaper Eskom tariffs was needed to achieve the growth target. A R200bn investment in rail and ports, and a R2.3bn investment in water and infrastructure over the next five years was also necessary.
Ramaphosa is expected to meet the PEAC every second month to help to drive SA’s economic aspirations in 2025.
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