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2 years ago

Opportunity Issue 98

  • Text
  • Property
  • Sme
  • Automotive
  • Manufacturing
  • Africa
  • Investment
  • Trade
  • Afcfta
  • Sacci
  • Midvaal
  • Economy
  • Programme
  • Petroleum
  • Sector
  • Global
  • Economic
  • African
  • Municipality
  • Infrastructure
Opportunity magazine is a niche business-to-business publication that explores various investment opportunities within Southern Africa’s economic sectors and looks to provide its readers with first-hand knowledge about South African business. Opportunity also looks to present South African business to international markets that may have interests in investing in South Africa. The publication is endorsed by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).

INFRASTRUCTURE

INFRASTRUCTURE Researcher and writer Sello Mabotja investigates how infrastructure investment is set to play a leading role in reversing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and weathering the simmering economic maelstrom. _________________ ____ “Government recognises that infrastructure investment is a critical driver for the future growth of the South African economy. South Africa requires a catalytic kind of infrastructure investment that will contribute to higher long-term growth, and address spatial disparities, transform the economy and create much-needed jobs.” - The Presidency ____________________ 24 | www.opportunityonline.co.za

INFRASTRUCTURE ACHIEVING ECONOMIC RECOVERY THROUGH A BRICKS-AND-MORTAR PATH Giant cranes shift thousands of tons of coal every year at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. Credit: RBCT The ubiquity of the “I” word in South Africa’s economic recovery lexicon permeates almost all plans when strategies about how to arrest the decline plaguing the domestic economy are mooted and discussed. Infrastructure-led economic growth and development appears to be on the cusp of being the in thing and it is often touted as a key driver of envisaged economic recovery. But this newfound panacea will not be a plain-sailing exercise as there are hurdles which still need to be overcome. In the next three years, an amount of R791-billion has been allocated to spending on infrastructure and this includes expenditure by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This is in line with the objective of shifting expenditure from consumption to investment and over the medium term, expenditure on capital assets is intended to grow by an estimated 12.5%. Infrastructure spend has over the years declined below 20% of total spending but government aims to increase its level to 30% by 2030 in order to achieve the targets set in the National Development Plan (NDP). A precipitous fall in investment has been the Achilles’ heel of infrastructure development, which according to a Business Leadership South Africa report, has declined from 20.3% of GDP in 2015 to 17.9% in 2019. The report notes that public sector spending was 27% or R70 billion below budget in the 2019/20 financial year compared to the previous year. www.opportunityonline.co.za | 25

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