President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that a South African Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a long-term goal of the country, but South Africa is not ready for one yet.
According to BusinessLive, Ramaphosa was replying to a parliamentary question from the chair of the Finance Committee, Joe Maswanganyi.
The President was quoted as saying: “With our current fiscal position, with substantial current account and budget deficits, it is currently not the most opportune and favourable time for us to establish a sovereign wealth fund.”
He went on to say: “While the conditions do not currently exist for the immediate establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, this is an objective to which we should continue to work. We are committed to creating a sovereign wealth fund. It is generally accepted that we should have a sovereign wealth fund.”
Ramaphosa also said that once the reform of state-owned enterprises had paid off, the profits they made could be paid as dividends into an SWF.
Meanwhile Namibia has said that it will have finalised its SWF by next year. The country is set to benefit from the discovery of significant oil deposits off its coast.