President Cyril Ramaphosa engaged senior journalists and editors from the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) on Tuesday on issues including media freedom, youth unemployment and Eskom.

The meeting took place at Tuynhuys in Cape Town. 

Here's what was said in seven quotes:

Media freedom

“You've exposed state capture, corruption and, at times, you've done it at personal risks to yourselves and under very difficult and trying circumstances. The media has that important role to play against the abuse of power, whether it's in government or in business.”

Recession 

“The [Stats SA] figures from the last quarter are not pleasing. But at the same time, they could not have come as a shock because the signs were there — the load-shedding and the impact that it had on production in manufacturing and trade. Agriculture slumped the most but I think, most importantly, business and consumer confidence has been affected as well.”

Coronavirus

“The world is going through another moment of great uncertainty, which is going to have a huge impact on growth. The coronavirus that is spreading around the world will have a major effect on economies globally. While SA does not have any incidents of the virus, it's already affecting more than 72 countries around the world and we will be a candidate as more countries are being affected.”

Eskom 

“We have appointed a CEO who is now at the helm of moving ahead with all the reforms. We are also establishing a good basis for a restructured energy sector that will be more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable.”

Youth unemployment

“We've had to come up with a stimulus to stimulate the economy, the economic players in our country being able to employ more people. We're bringing in various partners, the young people themselves and the private sector.”

Continental free trade 

“More than any other country on the continent, SA is truly well placed to benefit from the Africa continental free trade area because we still remain the most industrialised country on the continent, and a number of businesses still see us as the gateway into Africa. We've already met a number of businesses so they can come up with strategies and plans to take up what this has to offer them.

State capture & curbing corruption

“We've rebuilt public institutions that were severely damaged by state capture and corruption. Many of our institutions were under attack, they were weakened and many good people were either made to leave or left. We've acted quickly to stop the rot in the NPA and a number of others to stabilise them and to put in place capable and committed people.”