For decades Africa has been bleeding. She carries deep scars inflicted through the years of colonial rule. The sustained period of plunder and exploitation of her resources and deliberate arrest of her development adversely impacted on her growth and stability. The selfish pillaging, by both the coloniser and her own rulers, caused serious economic paralysis which is still felt amongst many of her nations today.
As Africa attempts to limp out of such paralysis, the lingering vestiges of imperial and colonial influence continues to find fodder and favour amongst the few, yet prestigious centres of our policy-making.
The organic and indigenous thought and practice is overlooked in pursuit of what seems to be fashionable or that which feeds to the schemes of those bent to keep Africa underdeveloped. Instead of harnessing indigenous thought to complement modern and advance systems to build our economies, we scornfully shun the Africa brewed solutions.
Such tendencies coupled with the trio challenges of poor leadership, unsound economic policies and poor governance regime, combine to hinder Africa’s growth and development. This trio of challenges is a heavy albatross that can only be relieved by a willingness on our part to transform.
We need the necessary confidence and commitment to drive Africa to new heights that the new world order demands. The attainment of such new heights depends on our readiness to conceptualise and execute socio-economic strategies suited for our own conditions.
With the turn of century, Africa is abound with a new generation of leaders who are keen to pull her out of the quagmire of poverty, disease, unemployment and illiteracy. It is the generation who have come to terms with their unique conditions and are consciously tapping into the local knowledge systems while keeping an eye on global trends and developments.
Under this new core of leadership, Africa is positioning herself as the future economic lion of the world. Africa is slowly shedding off her image of a basket case that saw many economic players switching their investments to other parts of the world. In many parts of Africa government leaders have come to terms with the important reality of creating conditions necessary for investment which require good governance, decisive leadership and sound policy frameworks. Business can only flourish under these conditions.
All over the world today Africa is recognised as the future business geomagnetic centre of the world. This is borne out by the abundance of natural resources, the growing market and policy changes found and experienced in Africa.
In terms of the United Nations reports, the population of Africa back in 2009 had exceeded one billion for the first time and a year later figures claimed that numbers in the continent had reached 1,022,234,000. These statistics make Africa the second most populous continent on the planet, behind Asia. So there is labour and market in Africa, key components that businesses desire in their operations.
While the global economy and traditional powerhouses have been experiencing a slump in the past five to eight years, Africa has displayed remarkable steady growth. Africa experienced growth of 4.6 % in 2010. Although there was perceptible slowing down in 2011, the growth levels of 5.0 % in 2012 were once again experienced, despite the global slowdown and uncertainty. According to the UN report the continent’s economy will grow by 4.8 % in 2013, and 5.1 % in 2014.
In order for us to address the deep rooted socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, inequality, poverty and under-development we must consolidate and harness this positive growth outlook.
On the political front, a great number of African nations are enjoying stability as a result of democratisation of their systems and institutions. Regular peaceful elections are held and separation of arms of government respected. The principles and values of democracy are slowly being entrenched.
But what remains a daunting challenge for Africa to attract investment and achieve desired growth? It is nothing but poor infrastructure which in some instances is non-existent, dilapidating or suffering acute neglect. The need for infrastructure development in emerging markets is critical.
In most African countries, particularly the lower-income countries, infrastructure is cited as a major constraint on doing business. The transportation of goods and services in the continent is a headache that many investors would like to avoid. The unreliability of energy supply, poor ICT systems, water and waste management amongst others remain an impediment.
If we have to emerge as a future global economic player, Africa needs to invest and channel her energies and resources to infrastructure development. This must be accompanied by a well-conceived program of knowledge and skills development of our human capital.
The growth attained in other nations of the world was the result of a resolute drive to implement infrastructural revolution accompanied by focused education program. The ramifications of such a revolution certainly are felt in other realms of society.
In South Africa, the government has adopted the National Development Plan which is a long-term vision that spells out what needs to be done in the key areas of economy, education and technology amongst others.
We are in the middle of a strategic infrastructure build programme, estimated at over R844 billion over 3 years, but with a project pipeline that stretches into the next 20 years. The rationale behind this intensification of infrastructure development is to drive equitable economic growth, unlock bottlenecks and stimulate industrialisation and job creation.
The build programme is one of our strategies aimed at attaining the target we have set of creating five million jobs by 2020, and strengthening domestic demand for local capital goods industries.
The Gauteng province, where we are gathered today, holds only 1.4% of the country’s total geographical area and yet has a population of 12.3million, the highest in the country’s nine provinces. Gauteng is the epicentre of South Africa's economy that compares well with the very best in the world. It boasts one of the best road, water, rail, electricity and communication infrastructures.
As the economic hub of South Africa and Southern Africa which contributes 35.6 % of the national GDP, and 10% of Southern Africa’s GDP, Gauteng remains a first point of contact for businesses who need access to unlocking new value in South Africa, the SADC region specifically and the African Continent in general.
The government projects in Guateng are part of the Gauteng Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan which accounts for all infrastructure projects and aligning related initiatives such as the 25-year Integrated Transport Master Plan.
Some of the projects that we are working on include the NASREC Smart City which is a development of multiple knowledge-economy and ICT manufacturing businesses, in the south of Johannesburg. It will be an ICT connectivity hub. The Gauteng Smart City is a “city within a city” development aimed at linking the south of Johannesburg to the Johannesburg CBD.
The Tambo Springs Freight and Logistics Hub
The project seeks to enhance the logistics capacity and efficiency of South Africa, and will have significant economic, social and environmental benefits.
The OR Tambo IDZ-The Jewellery Manufacturing Precinct
The Industrial Development Zone at OR Tambo International Airport will be a multi-site non-contiguous development consisting of several industry-specific precincts and it will be developed in phases.
The first phase will be the development of a Jewellery Manufacturing Precinct (JMP) on an already identified 6.1 hectare piece of land.
Auto City
The Auto City concept acts as an enabler to ensure critical mass is achieved so as to gain the potential benefits of subsidised utilities, reduced rental, consolidated logistical flows, bulk infrastructure improvements and dedicated logistics hubs; not to mention a key attraction for foreign direct investment as well as establishing the Gauteng province as an ‘area of choice’ for the automotive manufacturing sector.
Constitution Hill
Nowhere can the story of South Africa’s turbulent past and its extraordinary transition to democracy be told as it is at the Constitution Hill. This National Heritage site has witnessed over a century of South Africa’s history; it is estimated that the potential investment required for the further development of the site, is R2.1 billion and that development will take 5 years to reach completion.
Renewable Energy
Given our dynamics of urbanization, economic growth and energy supply challenges, we have prioritized the drive to introduce and expand use of green and renewable energies. Solar technologies and natural gas are at the core of our green and renewable strategy. Our plans include a large scale rollout of solar roof top panels to be mounted on government buildings to meet their energy needs.
Our calculations indicate that the mass roll-out of solar panels on government roof tops will come at a cost of about R11.2 billion. As a first step we have begun standardising the installation of solar technologies on all new social infrastructures we build, such as hospitals and schools.
These are some of the initiatives that we are driving as the government and I hope it will encourage many of you to start exploring ways and means in which you can share your expertise with us. It is our belief that forums such as Infrastructure Africa provide the opportunity to plan for and share best practice in the delivery of growth enablers such as energy, transport, water and ICT’s.
I trust and hope that this forum will not just be one of the chitchat occasion but a critical interactive sitting that will yield plausible results required to propel Africa to new heights. As I said earlier the future belongs to Africa.
Dankie, ngiyabonga.
