Ferial Haffajee
South Africa’s trade mission to Angola jetted into Luanda this week with a mandate to fix what apartheid strong-arm tactics destroyed.
Pundits say it will cost Southern Africa more than R50-billion to rebuild the rail and road links the previous government helped to destroy. This week President Nelson Mandela and his trade gurus will try to sell two development corridors to the diamond-rich country.
The corridors run through the wealthiest – and most war-ravaged – diamond, nickel and iron ore mining areas. Both carry the potential for huge infrastructure projects and foreign investment which could help to stabilise the shattered Angolan economy.
The Lobito/Benguela corridor is planned to link the port of Lobito with the copper, cobalt and nickel fields which cut across both Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ironically, the Namibe corridor connecting South Africa, Namibia and Angola is meant to resuscitate the iron-ore fields which ceased operation during the former South African Defence Force’s military action against the South West African People’s Organisation and support for Unita in southern Angola.
The area was the scene of the worst atrocities of the Namibian freedom struggle, and South Africa would now like to play a leading role in kick-starting the iron-ore operations there.
Several local mining companies have clinched exploration contracts, in particular with Zambia, while there is interest in Angolan resources as well. The Department of Trade and Industry envisages that each corridor will have an anchor mining project which will spawn secondary industries.
The two Angolan development plans are part of a group of 11 corridors planned to rebuild the infrastructure and manufacturing capacity which a Southern African free-trade area will need.
South Africa presently dominates the regional economy, especially compared to Angola. Last year South African exports to Angola were three times bigger than Angola’s exports to South Africa – although South Africa is only Angola’s fifth- largest trading partner. It’s a balance which must be corrected to stave off the southward migration of financial and human capital.
Mandela’s state visit this week – with six ministers in tow – run parallel to a trade trip which saw bankers, cellphone operators, builders and a range of manufacturers in Luanda exploring business opportunities.