Johannesburg 7 June 2024 – Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) welcomes the ANC’s call that we must all act in the interest of our country and its people and urgently move the country out of the electoral stalemate in forming a government of national unity (GNU). The ANC acknowledged the imperative of putting in place a government “that will move with speed to tackle all the pressing socio-economic challenges our nation faces” and “safeguards our constitutional democracy,” which we fully endorse.

It is critical that all parties commit themselves to respecting the Constitution and acting with the maturity required to put the country first. The priority must be the continuation of economic reforms that have begun under the previous administration to address the serious issues facing our economy, including loadshedding,  the underperformance of our ports and railways, and rebuilding the criminal justice system. The structural reforms underway to address these and other challenges are critical to turn the tide on unemployment and restart economic growth. This urgency is underlined by last week’s data that showed the economy shrunk by 0.1% in the first quarter. We urgently need to turn around this performance to move our country toward greater prosperity, and meet the needs of a growing workforce.

To meet this objective, we need to quickly form a stable GNU that will assure all South Africans as well as businesses and investors, both locally and internationally, that government will be committed to our constitutional democracy and the institutions that it rests on, including a well-managed National Treasury and the rule of law.

A coalition will require sacrifices – not every party can get everything it wants. That is the outcome of this election: South Africans have expressed support for many different parties. Parties must now put narrow interests aside and work together to deliver on that mandate. They must find a way to agree that will shore up confidence and allow us all to look forward to a brighter future.

Such a future must include a stable government. The agreements reached now must be capable of holding for the full term of the administration and parties must genuinely commit to doing so. This in itself will deliver the confidence and stability sorely needed.

Organised business will continue to work with the government of the day to support the creation of a conducive environment for business to grow the economy, generating employment and tax revenue. That work will be enabled by a government that is committed to constitutionalism, protecting and enhancing the institutions of good governance, and building an inclusive, growing economy.