Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene, singled out the new visa regulations as one of three policy issues causing uncertainty in the economy at the key African National Congress Lekgotla over the weekend.
The Lekgotla was a three-day meeting by the ANC’s policy-making elite.
According to Business Day, Nene sketched a frank and bleak picture of the economy when he acknowledged that the government was partly responsible for eroding SA’s growth potential.
South Africa was unlikely to achieve the 5% target by 2020 that was set in the National Development Plan. It was more likely to be 3% in the medium term, he said. After following the global average for years, SA’s growth potential was currently far below the global average, he told delegates.
The other policy issues he mentioned that caused uncertainty were land reform strategies in agriculture and amendments to the Act regulating the minerals industry.