Following veteran economist Roelof Botha’s optimistic message on the state of the country’s economy post the May elections, one businessman says the labour laws in the country are dictated by politicians and he does not see the situation improving in 18 months, referring to the time frame Botha predicted it would take post elections for the ship to turn. Young Bloemfontein businessman, Jones Mamabolo, echoed this in his reaction to OFM News.

Mamabolo says he liked the question-and-answer session because it resonated with him a great deal as it doesn’t make sense that a business should suffer at the hands of a few employees. Botha agreed that the current labour legislation is not doing the business community any favours. “We have Scandinavian style labour legislation which is crazy. For the life of me, nobody will convince me Ramaphosa is not going to address rigid labour legislation. It is South Africa’s biggest problem regarding international competitiveness. This will be addressed in the not too distant future”.

The address, which was backed by insurance company Old Mutual, was intended to give the local business community some predictions regarding where the country’s economy will be post the national elections on May 8. While Botha acknowledged and addressed some of the major concerns like radical land reform, which he called “land expropriation without comprehension”, persistent political uncertainty and rigid labour legislation, the economist’s overall presentation was an optimistic one, urging entrepreneurs to give it 18 months post the election. Botha says indications are that President Cyril Ramaphosa will become the President of South Africa in next month’s elections and he believes that Ramaphosa will be able to begin turning the state around.

Still, business owners were left with some doubt. One of the business owners expressed his doubt in Ramaphosa, citing the ANC’s inclusion of politicians alleged to have committed corruption and fraud on the party’s candidates list as his primary reason. This as it has been recently reported that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has received objections to about 30 members on the party’s list. Botha noted the concern, adding that research has shown that he is not alone in that regard. But he hopes that the president will be able to weed out corrupt politicians.

OFM News