Ramaphosa said this in response to a recent Transparency International (TI) report listing South Africa among countries with the highest corruption levels, ranked 73rd out of 180 countries that participated in the TI survey.
TI is a body which ranks participating countries according to their perceived levels of corruption in the public sector.
Addressing delegates attending the Business Economic Indaba (meeting) in Midrand (near Johannesburg) on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said the country’s poor ranking on the corruption index should be the last time Pretoria was rated as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
“We should hold our hands together and protect our country from corruption. If we want to move this country forward, we need to work together,” the president said.
Calling on business to work with government, he said: “We need to build the image of our country by putting the right people with relevant skills in the right positions. We must also make sure that the people we appoint are able to do the job.”
The indaba (gathering), themed “Strategic Dialogue for a Transformed and Inclusive Economy,” was hosted by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) to assess the state of the economy.
BUSA president Sipho Pityana said: “We want to do business with government and to ensure that we get our economy, our democracy and our wonderful country back on track.”