South Africa has possibly the largest infrastructure build programme on the African continent, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

“Not only does this investment create work opportunities and benefit companies in construction, materials supply, manufacturing and other sectors, but it also reduces the cost of doing business and improves our capacity for faster growth,” Deputy President Ramaphosa said on Friday evening.

He was addressing the Muslim Civil Society Conference Gala-Dinner on the role of civil society in the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP).

He said for the economy to grow and create jobs, South Africa was increasing its investment in infrastructure, especially in water, energy, public transport and freight logistics.

He said work has already begun to implement some of the key measures described in the NDP.

Government had developed a Medium-Term Strategic Framework that outlines the priority programmes of government for the next five years.

The framework which is distilled from the NDP guides the work of all departments in pursuing fundamental economic transformation.

He told the Muslim community that President Jacob Zuma had recently launched the black industrialist programme, which seeks to unlock the potential of black entrepreneurs so they could contribute to the re-industrialisation of the economy.

“This programme will support black-owned manufacturing companies with access to finance, access to markets, skills development, and quality and productivity improvement,” Deputy President Ramaphosa said.

Government was also undertaking measures to reduce red tape and regulatory obstacles for small businesses, while providing support for them to become sustainable and profitable.