SA Investment Conference: The pledges that have been made so far

The fever around Springboks’ World Cup victory has provided a great incentive for President Cyril Ramaphosa to woo foreign investors \who have come from all corners of the world to pledge allegiance with South Africa at the second Investment Conference.

Second Investment Conference: What’s the latest?

There is a new sense of hope that has been restored in the country. Much of this can be attributed to the Springboks amazing achievement of bringing the Webb Ellis trophy to our shores at a time when the country is in desperate need of a morale boost to tackle a lot of its problems.

At the centre of South Africa’s woes, is its sluggish economy. Our unemployment rate is standing at a record high 29.0% and the barrier of entry to doing business in South Africa is almost insurmountable.

Ramaphosa was candid about this in his opening address. He noted that as much as there has been steady progress in reshaping the future of the country, it would take a lot more effort, from local and interested alliance partners from across our shores, to build a country that was promised 25 years ago.

“We are taking several measures to reduce public spending, eliminate wastage and direct resources to where they will have the greatest impact on long-term growth and poverty alleviation.

“We are committed to taking the necessary measures to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio over the coming decade. Our experience over the 25 years of democracy is that macroeconomic stability and fiscal prudence is essential for investment and growth,” Ramaphosa said.

He further revealed that of the 31 projects, worth an estimated R300-billion, that were pledged at the inaugural Investment Conference, eight have been completed, while 17 are still at the implementation stage.

“It is gratifying to see the commitments that were made at this Conference last year materialising in the form of new factories, new production lines, new products, new services and new jobs,” the president added.

Pledges that have been made so far

It was business as usual after the address made by Ramaphosa. Local and foreign delegates, from as many as 22 countries, were handed an investment booklet that contained “potential investment opportunities exist in every part of our country.”

The bulk of it features ‘need-to-know facts about our nine provinces and useful data on the best places to invest capital.

Already, companies have stepped forward, on Day One, to pledge towards establishing business in South Africa. These are the companies that have made pledges so far:

• NAAMSA (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa): R6-billion towards the automobile industry;
• MTN South Africa: R10-billion per annum on capital investment, assisting with the rollout of digital infrastructure and connectivity and the building of properties for use across 21 countries.;
• New Development Bank: R23-billion
• Agricultural Development Agency: R12.9-billion over the next five years, creating an opportunity for the emergence of new farmers, helping 450 000 people in rural communities, and creating 300 000 potential job opportunities;
• VM Automotive: R426-million;
• Toyota South Africa: R2.4-billion towards a new passenger car model that will go into production in Durban by the end of 2021;
• Sappi: R14-billion in their plants across the country;
• Discovery Bank: R1.4-billion;