Electricity and Energy Minister Kgotsientsho Ramokgopa was among a delegation of government officials and business leaders who sought to drive home that message during an investment session at the African CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on Tuesday.
South Africa has invited the private sector globally to partner with the government by investing in infrastructure such as ports, rail, electricity and manufacturing to increase local value-addition and boost trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The government has been on a mission to reiterate its long-standing message that South Africa is a safe investment destination in the face of an onslaught from United States President Donald Trump, who says its laws have discriminated against white people.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgotsientsho Ramokgopa was among a delegation of government officials and business leaders who sought to drive home that message during an investment session at the African CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Tuesday.
Ramokgopa said South Africa had stabilised its energy supply — even as power utility Eskom announced the return of load-shedding on Tuesday afternoon — and urged the private sector to participate in government-led infrastructure development projects.
“This gathering provides a platform to explore how South Africa, in partnership with fellow African nations and global investors, can fortify the region’s case through targeted infrastructure development, industrial capacity building and the establishment of the conducive policy environment,” he said.
“It is our fair conviction that South Africa must remain at the forefront of Africa’s transformative industrial agenda that places the continent on a sustainable growth trajectory by attracting leading multinational manufacturers and partnering with homegrown investors to seize the new market opportunities that will be unlocked through the implementation and operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
He said the country was committed to forging partnerships that accelerated its anaemic economic growth and social development in the face of the prevailing issues of unemployment and inequality, as well as infrastructure and logistical constraints.
“We are living in a world of disruptions, having just emerged from the disruptive Covid-19 pandemic and we are still dealing with the effects of climate change. We now have to contend with disruptions in world trade that are reshaping the global supply chain and economic dynamics. These disruptions are driven by geopolitical tensions, protectionist measures and instability in key shipping corridors,” he said.
Ramokgopa was alluding in part to punitive tariffs levied by Trump against countries — including South Africa — he accuses of previously ripping the US in trade.
“We extend a warm invitation to explore the diverse investment opportunities that South Africa offers across key sectors such as agriculture, mining, green manufacturing and tourism. It’s presenting significant potential for sustainable growth, innovation and mutual beneficial partnerships. We are committed to ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of electricity,” Ramokgopa said.
He added that Africa was on the threshold of “unprecedented economic transformation” with a youthful population, vast natural resources and a growing consumer market, with the continent fast emerging as one of the most attractive investment frontiers.
South Africa’s deputy minister of trade and industry, Zuko Godlimpi, told the panel that there were opportunities to add value to products on the continent rather than just exporting raw materials and then Africa importing processed finished products from the developed world. The case of cocoa and chocolate had been highlighted during the forum, he added.
“South Africa has a market for chocolate. But the dynamic is that cocoa will be moved from Côte d’ Ivoire into Europe, and then South Africa will import that cocoa from Europe. We allow other jurisdictions to be the ones that process,” Godlimpi said.
He said Côte d’ Ivoire did not have the capital to invest in processing facilities but South African companies could build factories in the country and then export finished products to South Africa.
Brand South Africa general manager for stakeholder relations, Mpumi Mabuza, highlighted some of the public/private investment projects and opportunities in the country, including the R38 billion expansion of the container terminal at the Port of Durban and the R2.1 billion development of a gas import terminal at Richards Bay Port.
Others were the R16 billion refurbishment of public health facilities, plans to spend R8.5 billion on national school infrastructure, the R35.8 billion Tubatse Pumped Hydro Storage facility in Groblersdal and the multi-billion Namakwa and Nkomazi special economic zones.
“We remain committed to Africa and ensuring the AfCFTA realises its full potential. Investors are invited to partner with South Africa and access excellent markets, and we are looking for opportunities that allow for the integration of supply chains across borders,” Mabuza said.
Anthony Costa, the head of the secretariat of B20 — the official business group of the G20 which is under South Africa’s presidency — said an environment of policy certainty was needed to encourage investment partnerships between the public and private sectors.
“We need policies that promote sustainability. We also promote certainty and clarity to allow for investment in South Africa. We have seen this in the field of renewable energy in particular,” he said.
“What we’re trying to do is create a framework and an opportunity to increase investment in South Africa and the rest of the continent, and unlock economic growth globally as well. So South Africa benefits from the G20 process by giving South African businesses a chance to advocate for its capabilities, giving it a chance to advocate for policy, along with other businesses from across the G20.”
The head of the corporate client group at Rand Merchant Bank, Nana Phiri, told the session that the continent’s R3.4 trillion market with a population of more than one billion, mostly young people, provided opportunities for global businesses to tap into all 54 countries to achieve growth.
She said the bank’s key focus had been around rail and ports “to ensure that we can get private sector participation so that we can accelerate our rail delivery, as well as the ports’ efficiencies within South Africa”.
It had also, over the past three years, funded the energy sector “to ensure that most of the innovative power producers in South Africa are able to meet the [electricity] need from renewable energy in South Africa”.
More than 2800 delegates including 900 chief executives and 10 heads of states as well as business leaders, government officials, investors and entrepreneurs attended the two-day Africa CEO conference.
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told a panel discussion at the forum that white South Africans who have taken up Trump’s offer of refuge in the US have not been persecuted as claimed, but are opposed to the country’s post-apartheid transformation process.