South African business confidence declined in July as the high level of optimism that existed immediately after the election of President Cyril Ramaphosa waned, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sacci) business confidence index was at 92.0 in July, down 1.3 index points from its June level and 2.7 points lower than where it was a year ago.

"The lower BCI comes at a time when there is already a very high expectations of a shift by government to full implementation of policies geared for economic growth, job creation, alleviation of poverty, crime and social injustices among other priorities, after the election of a new government in the May 2019 elections," Sacci said.

"The high level of optimism that existed immediately after the election of President Ramaphosa, is being affected by indications that the ruling party is divided on policy, political and factional lines, on the basis that these divisions have a direct impact in government’s efficiency and effectiveness in implementing its policies and managing the fiscus."

It said the widely reported poor financial position of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and municipalities continued to be a huge cause for concern.

"It is Sacci view that the manner in which SOEs and municipalities are led, managed and operated is the primary cause of their problems," the business chamber said.

"Government’s own current practice of how leadership and management is appointed to run its businesses and municipalities is where all problems start."

It added that it was "no longer negotiable" for the government to urgently restructure its policies and procedures on how SOEs are managed, particularly through the independent appointment of competent boards and management.