Plan even in face of uncertainty

[caption id="attachment_20992" align="alignright" width="200"] Business Conversation, with Kevin Hustler[/caption]

TO be South African, these days, is to live with uncertainty. The challenge is this: Can we picture prosperity, even in the face of uncertainty?

Uncertainty makes us vulnerable. It leaves business owners feeling they have no control, and threatens to bring out the worst in us as a country. The Wall Street Journal quoted American economist and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, Alan Greenspan, as saying the inability of companies to understand external events almost invariably induced fear and disengagement.

And so, just this week, it has been reported an American automotive company is threatening to pull out of South Africa as a direct result of the unstable labour environment.

This could, potentially, herald dark times for South Africa, and for the Eastern Cape, especially in the face of our region's dependence on the motor industry.

However, in times of uncertainty, the experts advise, it is best to plan and to prepare for different possibilities. This, they say, is the best way to regain a sense of control, and to feel mastery over your own destiny.

Off the back of the first state of the nation address delivered by President Jacob Zuma to a new cabinet after the 2014 elections, followed by the state of the province address from Premier Phumulo Masualle, it is clear there are indeed other possibilities to plan and prepare for.

It was welcome to hear Zuma's commitment to extensive engagement with the private sector, to work together to overcome the inhibitors of growth in the economy.

Follow-through on such a commitment can only be seen as a step towards stimulating shared economic growth and investment, which will help to build sustainable communities.

Where government funding is spent, private sector investment will follow.

The news that Transnet is moving swiftly ahead in establishing the manganese corridor between the Eastern and Northern Cape holds a great deal of promise for our region. This holds significant opportunities that should not be underestimated.

Over the next five years, R26-billion will be put into a rail infrastructure upgrade and into the building of an export terminal at the Port of Ngqura. The first manganese will be exported from Ngqura in 2019, just five years from now.

We're well into the second year, now, of Transnet's R300-billion investment into South Africa's transport infrastructure. Bold commitments, such as the commitment to beginning the manganese corridor in Nelson Mandela Bay, paint a healthy and hopeful picture.

Premier Phumulo Masualle's recent state of the province address injected new impetus into the commitment to develop our province as the energy hub of South Africa.

Alternative and renewable energies carry huge potential to change the fortunes and the futures of the people of the Eastern Cape.

The premier's commitment to the pursuit of the Project Mthombo, too, is a direct acknowledgement of the opportunities available to grow and develop the Eastern Cape economy.

The diversification of the EC economy is vital if we are to see the levels of growth needed to sustain the province and its people.

Diversification opens the way to increased foreign and local direct investment.

Armed with the good news that the Special Economic Zones legislation is now final, business would like to see a progressive drive towards a reduction in the red tape that hampers investment, improved co-ordination and investment promotion, and increased investment incentives towards streamlining the business environment.

The Coega Industrial Development Zone will become a Special Economic Zone and will enjoy economic incentives, such as a 15% tax rate for investors.