Phuti Mosomane
Former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the Southern Africa-European CEOs that deteriorating infrastructure and electricity crisis are holding back South Africa’s economic growth.
“What is holding us back is the rate at which the infrastructure is deteriorating. The state of electricity in the country shows that we will not grow unless we fix Eskom, and unless we bring renewable energy on board at a faster pace than we are doing at the moment,” said Manuel, adding that this is also the greatest opportunity for the African continent.
Pointing out that the African population is growing faster than the growth of the economy, Manuel said economic growth across sub saharan Africa will be 2.5%. “Unless we engage in this issue in a real way, in the past 8 years per capita GDP has been in decline”.
He told the Dialogue that the majority of the people on the continent were poorer because issues that affect their lives are not being attended to.
For this he said the five largest economies in Sub Saharan Africa being South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Ethiopia and Kenya are in a slump.
Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene who is also chairperson of the European House – Ambrosetti Africa and Chairman of Thebe, urged CEOs to take advantage of the opportunities in the continent.
Nene said one of the main critical challenges but also opportunities, is infrastructure.
“One of the challenges that have been identified revolve around logistical infrastructure, connectivity and energy crisis. And the majority of the CEOs in this event come from these sectors – here lies an opportunity for them to provide solutions to the challenges,” Nene told Inside Politics, adding that South Africa must resolve structural reforms in order to realise the much needed economic growth.
Asked on whether he believed load shedding can be resolved, Nene said the answer lies in finding alternative sources of energy.
“We are not going to solve load shedding, we will have to find alternative sources of energy – and this will automatically resolve loadshedding,” he said.
Earlier, Mitochondria Energy Company, which is taking part in the Energy Transition and Critical Raw Materials panel discussion, committed to invest at least R4.3 billion to establish the first Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub in SA located in the Vaal area in Gauteng Province.
Saki Zamxaka, the CEO of Gauteng Growth and Development Agency told delegates that “small businesses are also part of the solution,” saying the big question is how much of the trade with the EU benefits small business.
The summit, which is ending on Friday, is a unique platform to promote dialogue and support the long-term growth of strategic trade and economic relations between Europe and Southern Africa.
INSIDE EDUCATION
