S. African president calls on businesses to support Africa’s economic aspirations

   CAPE TOWN, Jan. 29  -- President Cyril Ramaphosa has called upon the South African business sector to join the collective national effort to advance the interests of the country and the African continent, his office said Tuesday.
   This message was delivered at several interactions with businesses as South Africa prepares to assume the chair of the African Union in February, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
   In the latest interaction on Tuesday, the president addressed the South African heads of mission accredited to other African countries, outlining South Africa's priorities for its term at the helm of the continental body, according to Diko.
   These include economic integration across the continent and the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), ensuring women's role in the economic and financial sectors and the fight against gender-based violence, as well as the promotion of good governance, said Diko.
   At the meeting with businesses in Pretoria, the president welcomed the operationalization of the AfCFTA in July as a historic moment and the opening of a new era for the continent, Diko said.
   Once in effect, the AfCFTA would constitute the largest common market in the world, composed of over 1 billion people and a combined GDP of more than 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars, and would help develop the type of inclusive development path that is essential to Africa's long-term prosperity.
   Diko quoted the president as saying that the legacy of the AfCFTA will help enhance intra-African trade and create jobs for the African people.
   The meeting identified the need to reinvigorate South Africa's leadership of the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative, as infrastructure is the resolution of Africa's social, economic and political challenges, Diko said.
   For this purpose, the president urged businesses to facilitate greater levels of intra-African investments focusing specifically on trade-enabling infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities, said Diko.  Xinhua