South African President Thabo Mbeki has announced the formation of a new government task force to ramp up economic growth rate above 6 percent in a new bid to create jobs and boost investment, a local report said on Monday.

English daily Business Day reported that Mbeki made the statement in Pretoria after a three-day cabinet meeting on Sunday. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will head the team.

Mbeki said the team would consist of senior economic ministers, including Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, and the premiers of Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

The government said that growth must exceed 6 percent if it is to make inroads into stubbornly high unemployment.

Mbeki said a vital ingredient needed to achieve higher growth was increased levels of investment. He referred to the target set by the Growth and Development Summit two years ago for 5 percent of "investable funds" in the private sector to be ploughed back into the economy.

Discussions on implementing the target were continuing at the National Economic Development and Labor Council.

Mlambo-Ngcuka's task team is the latest in a series of interventions aimed at speeding up growth and job creation.

These include the microeconomic reform strategy, decisions of the Growth and Development Summit, the Expanded Public Works Program, and attempts to rethink the labor market.

It was hoped that the team would come up with firm proposals by September, which have to be budgeted for in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, due before parliament in October.

Source: Xinhua