Chester Makana

Chester Makana

Racism, tribalism and crime are serious threats to international investors who want to invest in the country, Limpopo's 2010 financial committee coordinator Pandelani Ramagoma said at the weekend.

Ramagoma was addressing delegates attending a two-day 2010 summit at Louis Trichardt.

The summit, organised by Makhado Municipality, was aimed at advising the community about business opportunities in a province described as "a gateway to Africa".

"We should be a catalyst to do away with racism and tribalism. We should influence developments concerning the African Renaissance, New Partnership for Africa's Development and African Unity," he said.

Ramagoma said the problem of crime in the country was a "roadblock to investors" because they would shy away from investing in a country they viewed as afflicted by crime, racism and tribalism.

Though the country is in its 13th year of democracy, he said "elements of apartheid, racism and tribalism are still very much alive.

"It is true that we are known for apartheid, but we should change this. We should now be known as developers of our economy. We should start developing our telecommunications infrastructure. We should stop playing the racial and and tribal cards, which make us a divided nation," said Ramagoma

He said because of race and tribalism, there were sceptics who thought South Africa could not host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The country needed to be backed by other African countries to show the world that it could host sport's biggest tournament.

"South Africa should be united to attract investors who are planning to cash in when the tournament is held for the first time in Africa. It is meant to benefit all Africans. We should build Africa's partnership now," he said.