Black Business Federation: Delay in finalising GNU could affect business confidence

JOHANNESBURG - The Black Business Federation says the delays in finalising the Government of National Unity (GNU) pose a significant economic risk for black businesses.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is yet to announce his new cabinet amid highly publicised tensions over ministerial positions between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The federation said the delays signal a lack of effective leadership and could affect business confidence, add to investor uncertainty, making the markets nervous and weighing on the rand.

As negotiation talks continue, the federation has called on Ramaphosa to appoint to the ministries of trade, industry and competition, as well as small business development, people who will move the country forward by creating an inclusive economy.

It believes the minister responsible for small businesses should create and sustain policies that attract foreign direct investment and develop programmes that support black businesses in gaining market shares.

This as the president’s decision to revoke his offer to give the DA trade and industry is one of the big contentions stalling negotiations.

READ: GNU talks: DA's federal executive faces conundrum

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the GOOD Party, Brett Herron has called on the DA and the ANC to put the interests of South Africans before party politics.
 
While Herron said he understands the complexity of the discussions, he has warned that the interests of the country now hang in the balance.
   
He was speaking in Langa on Saturday, at an LGBTQI+ community celebration of International Pride Month.
 
“We need to see leadership acting in good faith and when leadership doesn’t act in good faith that’s actually a failure of leadership.”