DURBAN - A RANGE of multi-billion rand development projects are expected to be finalised more speedily, thanks to a partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal government and the Egypt-based African Export and Import bank (Afreximbank).
South Africa’s struggling state-owned enterprises will also be aided to upscale their investments in various parts of Africa with massive returns expected.
These are among the spin-offs that are set to be generated by the agreement signed by KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala and the president of the Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, yesterday.
Zikalala said the multinational bank would work with the province’s key catalytic developments including the Dube Trade Port, Richards Bay Industrial Park and the Port of Durban.
The deal would see a mushrooming of similar developments in many other parts of the continent, unlocking sustainable and joint trade and investment opportunities for local and Africa-based business players.
KZN-based projects worth about R20 billion would benefit from the bank’s financial support, said Zikalala, who was flanked by Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Ravi Pillay and Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi.
Coming two days after the continent commemorated Africa Day on Tuesday, the agreement set to generate massive job opportunities for the continent, Zikalala said.
“Key to the sustainable reinvigoration of Africa is the economic development of all our countries, our provinces, our cities, villages and wards. Sustainable development does not leave people behind, but opens new vistas of economic opportunity for employment-creating enterprises to thrive,” he said.
“This MOU (memorandum of understanding) marks a significant beginning in economic relations between KZN and our fellow cities, provinces and countries on the continent. Today we set sail on a ship that is Afreximbank with its four strategic pillars which are to promote intra-African trade, facilitate industrialization and export development, strengthen trade finance leadership and improve financial performance and soundness.
“We welcome this opportunity to work closely with the Afreximbank which will see our state-owned enterprises improving their capacity to move into the rest of Africa to invest and to seek and strengthen partnerships.
“We want to move Africa from the description which says that Africa is rich, but its people are poor. The bank will become an important financial services partner for eligible public and private sector trade and trade enabling infrastructure transactions in the province. We currently have a pipeline of projects worth over R20 billion that are ready for financing by the bank. These are projects that are driven by both the state and the private sector.
“According to the agreement, the bank will consider supporting events such as the KZN Export Week or similar events hosted by the Province. We look to the Bank to play its part in showcasing the province as investment-centric with opportunities in multi-sectors for investors to make foreign direct investments to the Province,” said Zikalala, who described the bank as “the most reliable Pan-African multilateral financial institution”.
Established in 1993, the service provider was co-owned by African governments, the African Development Bank and other African multilateral financial institutions as well as African and non-African public and private investors, the Premier said.
Oramah said the fact that the elements of the agreement were essentially business-driven would provide an opportunity for the bank, working with the province, to commit resources towards a massive industrialisation programme that would be driven by people at grassroots level.
“This is a rewarding partnership for the people of KZN, South Africa and the continent at large. The market of R1,2 billion with a R3 trillion dollar GDP for the continent has emerged, and it is up to the continent’s role players and stakeholders to harness these opportunities towards creating economic prospects for the ordinary people. A partnership such as this one is a platform to achieve just that,” said Oramah, who is also the chairperson for the bank’s Board of Trustees.
The Mercury