The North West Chamber of Commerce has expressed support for the continuation in critical portfolios such as Electricity and Energy in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new cabinet, despite concerns about its significantly bloated size.
The Chamber hopes the new administration will see political parties continue to put their differences aside in the best interests of the citizenry, focusing on sustainable economic growth.
Chairperson of the North West Chamber of Commerce, Benedict Modise, emphasised the importance of economic growth and stability.
Modise says, “What we expect is that as a business, we can have continuation from what we had with the sixth administration. That all the ministers that are coming in will work closely with the business sector. We are actually hopeful that we will work together with the incoming government and ministers to ensure that we can retain work and ensure sustainable economic growth.”
Residents in the provincial capital, Mahikeng, shared diverse views on the newly appointed cabinet, with some holding high expectations for the 7th administration.
One resident said, “I think as South Africans we should not be hopeless. Let’s just be hopeful that maybe something will come out of this – especially because we come from a situation where we’ve been struggling with corruption and stuff like that, and perhaps now this government of national unity will be able to police each other.”
Another resident commented, “John Steenhuisen as a minister of agriculture, it’s a lot. We’ll see when he gets there because we still believe that the land is still in the hands of the minority.”
