The Minister of Public Works & Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, and his delegation have concluded a successful two-day visit to Kuwait as part of his Middle East tour to attract additional investment into South African infrastructure projects, aimed at igniting economic growth and job creation. The Minister’s visit was the first to Kuwait by a South African minister since 2021. His delegation included the Limpopo Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Public Works & Infrastructure, Ernest Rachoene, Chairperson of the eThekwini Municipality Economic Development and Planning Committee, Thembubuhle Ntuli, and Acting Head of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), Mameetse Masemola.
Among the stakeholders engaged were the Kuwait Investment Authority, the oldest and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, and the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce. The delegation aims to build fruitful relationships with funding institutions to stimulate interest in South Africa’s infrastructure pipeline of projects, with the goal of closing the infrastructure investment gap.
“Our visit to Kuwait demonstrates our commitment to achieving our goal of attracting an additional R100 billion in funding for South African infrastructure projects during the seventh administration. The meetings we held with the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and the Kuwait Investment Authority – the world’s oldest sovereign wealth fund – will undoubtedly contribute towards turning South Africa into a construction site, growing the economy, and creating jobs,” said Minister Macpherson.
“We extend our gratitude to the South African mission in Kuwait and their Acting Head of Mission, Busi Mpungose, for the invaluable role they played in facilitating numerous meetings
and engagements in the best interests of the South African people. The work of marketing South Africa abroad and attracting investment is precisely what our embassies are intended to do, and we commend the mission in Kuwait for fulfilling this role.”
Limpopo MEC for Public Works & Infrastructure, Ernest Rachoene, reiterated the province’s commitment to working with stakeholders to attract additional investment, which will contribute to improving the lives of South Africans in the region.
“On behalf of the Limpopo Provincial Government, we deeply appreciate the opportunity presented to us by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who entrusted Minister Macpherson with this important mission. Together with the Minister and our colleague from eThekwini Municipality, we engaged with key stakeholders who provided us with positive feedback, as well as constructive criticism on certain domestic issues that require urgent attention. As a country, and as the province of Limpopo in particular, we are fully prepared to welcome investors who will directly contribute to our economic growth. This visit has been a valuable experience, and what is now critical is implementation – we will ensure that we hit the ground running,” Rachoene said.
For enquiries:
James de Villiers
Spokesperson to the Minister
Email: james.devilliers@dpw.gov.za
Cell: 082 766 0276
Nombulelo Nyathela
Infrastructure SA: Chief Director: External Relations and Communication
Email: NombuleloN@InfrastructureSA.org
Cell: 060 503 4933
Emmanuel Mongwe
Spokesperson to the Limpopo MEC
Email: MongweEM@dpw.limpopo.gov.za
Cell: 079 147 3519/0716099090
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