By Marcus Moloko
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with World Bank Group (WBG) President Ajay Banga at the Mahlamba Ndlopfu official residence in Pretoria this week, in a high‑level engagement aimed at shaping South Africa’s next phase of economic partnership with the institution.
Joined by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and senior government officials, Ramaphosa and Banga deliberated on building a more coordinated partnership under the forthcoming Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2027–2032.
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The framework will focus on modern, inclusive infrastructure, human development, and strengthening the private sector to drive job-focused growth.
The meeting served as a strategic planning session to transition South Africa from its current economic recovery phase into long‑term structural growth.
Key objectives included sustaining World Bank lending, which has exceeded $1 billion annually in recent years, to address infrastructure bottlenecks in energy and transport, tackling South Africa’s 33% unemployment rate by prioritising projects that stimulate private sector hiring, and using World Bank technical expertise to strengthen local government management, modernise state – owned enterprises such as Eskom and Transnet, while curbing corruption.
The country and the World Bank Group share a long‑standing relationship spanning decades, aligned on four pillars of economic growth, macroeconomic stability, structural reform, improving state capability, and infrastructure investment.
In recent years, this partnership has delivered some notable results, which include financing for energy transition projects under the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET‑IP).
The new CPF (2027–2032) is expected to deepen collaboration, aligning World Bank resources with South Africa’s national priorities.
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