President Cyril Ramaphosa defended housing a unit to tackle excessive regulation in The Presidency on the basis that “red tape is not found only in one department and there is no single department that can tackle red tape on its own”.

In his response to the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SoNA), in which he announced the appointment of business personality Sipho Nkosi to lead The Presidency’s red tape team, Ramaphosa said that reducing red tape would have benefits for companies of all sizes and unleash investment and growth.

“Not only does red tape increase the costs of doing business, but it also constrains South Africans in their everyday lives and in many of their interactions with government.

“Whether it is a matter of getting a building permit, a driver’s licence, a title deed or a marriage certificate, all South Africans have to carry the cost of bureaucratic inefficiency and excessive regulation.”

The President’s focus on reducing unnecessary regulation met a mixed reception, with many in business welcoming the priority the issue was being given and others, including several opposition leaders, describing it as a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet Ministers responsible for small business development and trade and industry.

There has also been criticism that the appointment of a business leader to a position that is to be housed in The Presidency represented an attempt by Ramaphosa to build is office into a super Ministry, as well as to cover for the inefficiency or defiance of members of his Cabinet.

The leader of the official opposition John Steenhuisen even went as far as to table a ‘Motion of No Confidence’ in Ramaphosa’s entire Cabinet and promised the Democratic Alliance’s support for various Bills once “this House fires them for you”.

In response, Ramaphosa denied that The Presidency was either bloated or an attempt at building a “parallel State”.

“This is a Presidency at work to drive a coherent and effective programme of action across government,” he said, adding that he presided over a Cabinet of Ministers in whom he had the greatest confidence.

He also clarified and reinforced his SoNA argument that the private sector should play a central role in job creation.

This statement drew applause from the DA, which described it as Ramaphosa channelling DA policy, and venom from the Economic Freedom Fighters, which insisted that the State should lead the country’s job-creation efforts.

Ramaphosa said he did not accept that a choice had to be made between a developmental State that drives economic and social transformation, and a vibrant, expanding private sector that fuels growth and employment.

“We do not agree that, by recognising the role of business in creating employment, we diminish the central role of the State in coordinating, planning and guiding the development of the economy,” he said, while noting that three-quarters of all jobs in South Africa already resided in the private sector.

“This is what we mean when we talk about a mixed economy that draws on the resources, strengths and capabilities of both public and private sectors.”