Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on infrastructure and ICT in Africa

Deputy President Ramaphosa was speaking today, Thursday, 12 May 2016 at the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF Africa) 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. Deputy President Ramaphosa participated in a session on how innovative partnerships can bridge financing gaps for economic and social infrastructure.

 

Deputy President Ramaphosa is leading Team South Africa – comprising several Ministers and business leaders – at WEF Africa where deliberations are taking place under the theme “Connecting Africa’s resources through digital transformation”.

 

Deputy President Ramaphosa and his delegation have reassured investors at the Forum that South Africa is open for business and is a preferred investment destination.

 

Deputy President Ramaphosa told a Forum session on infrastructure development that “infrastructure has been a key economic driver in South Africa and in the region” and that in South Africa, the coordination of infrastructure development through the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission had “paid great dividends”.

 

“Investment in infrastructure has stimulated economic activity; therefore there are returns to be made for investors in infrastructure in South Africa and Africa. Infrastructure is better done when approached at a regional level, because our countries are inter-linked through the movement of people and trade,” said Deputy President Ramaphosa.

 

Deputy President Ramaphosa added that South Africa had found innovative ways of partnering with the private sector, especially in energy, and that this had opened new opportunities for private sector investment. He also encouraged investment in connectivity through technology and digital solutions and said this should be a priority for African economies.

 

Tomorrow, Friday 13 May 2016, Deputy President Ramaphosa will participate in a high-level breakfast on the Internet for All Initiative which aims to develop new scalable and replicable models of public private collaboration to accelerate internet access globally.

 

In this session, heads of state and leaders from multilateral organisations and business will discuss the progress of the first country pilot programme in the Northern Corridor and deliberate the next steps.

 

WEF Africa concludes tomorrow, Friday, May 13 2016.

 

Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853