First Rand boss's recipe for growth

[caption id="attachment_36341" align="alignright" width="300"] UPBEAT VIEW: First Rand Ltd chief executive Sizwe Nxasana is bullish about growth and investments in the Eastern Cape. Picture: BRIAN WITBOOI[/caption]

IF we get just a few things right, we will avoid a recession.

First Rand Limited chief executive Sizwe Nxasana said this in Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday during a visit to attend a private function.

In the economic climate, with news of a credit-rating downgrade having just hit South Africa, Nxasana said it was even more important to drive reform and invest for long-term growth.

"We have a robust and sound macro-economic environment. Even within our revised growth prospects from 3% to 1.5% or 2% real-term growth it is still positive growth, Nxasana said.

"We had a tough first quarter of the year but with the strike looking to be resolved in the platinum sector, the second quarter is expected to post positive growth."

The broad definition of a recession was two consecutive quarters of negative growth, he said.

Nxasana was upbeat that foreign investors still saw South Africa in a positive light, particularly given the state of peer groups in the emerging markets.

"I am always pleasantly surprised when I meet with foreign investors. We are actually doing better than our peer groups," he said.

"If we get just a few things right, we can drive reform, avoid a recession and have an upward economic growth trend."

Nxasana said service delivery and infrastructure development projects were important drivers of the Eastern Cape and national economies.

In the Eastern Cape, the manufacturing, automotive and agricultural sectors were also big drivers of the economy.

As a region, Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape offered great investment opportunities and this was the reason he felt bullish about the region, he said.

"We have built this office block here in the city because of the growth in investment in the local economy. Port Elizabeth is an important hub for the region's growth in the services sector and banking," Nxasana said.

He was referring to the FNB Building in Newton Park, in which the company had over the past few years invested substantially in upgrades and expansions.

The different stakeholders – the government, business and labour – should look beyond their confines to form partnerships to grow the economy, Nxasana said.

Social cohesion between these three sectors was important, particularly when considering just how long it took for the platinum sector strike to be resolved.

He said South Africa needed a different conversation to build social cohesion around communities to fight unemployment and inequality.

Nxasana, who graduated from Fort Hare University, appealed to the youth, as part of Youth Month, to take up opportunities and to look beyond their circumstances.

"All of us have the potential to be great. We should not let conditions hold us back.

"It is entirely up to us to take up these opportunities," he said. - Cindy Preller