Business organisations and initiatives have united in an appeal to the government to remove obstacles that prevent the country from making strategic investments. They want the government to discuss them with the opposition. The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Zdeněk Zajíček, said this at the “Česko na křižovatce” conference today.
“Our country needs a new vision and a government that will think beyond the four-year mandate. However, the actual implementation of important investments for the country will be limited by long-term political support. That is why we ask the Prime Minister to negotiate with the President of the Republic and the political entities represented in Parliament, i.e. both the government and opposition parties, to guarantee that the strategic plans of our country will not remain only on paper, as half-baked solutions or as unfinished projects,” said Zajíček.
The Czech Republic must engage in international cooperation to complete Europe’s energy, transport and other technical infrastructure, added Jan Rafaj, president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport. The prime minister’s task, he said, is to negotiate this cooperation in Europe, whether on a bilateral, multilateral or EU-wide level.
“We have named the main priorities that need to be addressed immediately with the government and political representation. If the approach of the government and politicians does not finally change, if they are not courageous and responsible for the future development and especially the competitiveness of our industry, agriculture and services, the next generation will pay the price and we will be on the tail of Europe,” added Jan Wiesner, President of the Confederation of Employers’ and Business Associations
According to entrepreneurs and initiatives, the country’s problems are exemplified by slow construction and lagging energy, transport or data infrastructure, unaffordable housing, the quality of education, the lack of a skilled workforce, excessive administrative burdens on business and slow law enforcement.
According to employers and initiatives, growth in value added should be ensured by investments in energy, transport, data and other technical infrastructure, affordable, especially rental housing, the labour market and initial and continuing vocational education and training, in science, research and innovation with an emphasis on its application to industry and practice, strengthening traditional and building new high value-added products and services based in the Czech Republic, especially in areas such as the nuclear programme, semiconductor manufacturing, batteries and battery storage, quantum technologies or artificial intelligence.
According to the entrepreneurs, however, other organisations involved in shaping the domestic economy should also be invited to cooperate in the preparation, acceptance and implementation of investments. They will therefore also seek cooperation with trade unionists. “We need to throw away our differences and go in one common direction again,” said Jiří Nouza, head of the Union of Construction Entrepreneurs.
Source: Reuters and CTK
