Page 6 - AfrElec Week 22 2022
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AfrElec INVESTMENT AfrElec
South Africa releases draft
plan to attract more investment
SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa has unveiled a draft investment “Critical in this regard,” says CIS, “are the
attraction plan that seeks to help grow the conti- country’s efforts to create a more competi-
nent’s most-industrialised economy. tive business environment, including efforts
South Africa’s first Country Investment underway to improve South Africa’s investment
Strategy (CIS) says the nation has made strides climate including the optimal provision of net-
since the end of apartheid in 1994 but that high work infrastructure in addition to anti-corrup-
levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality tion efforts, as investment enablers. In relation
remain. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened to the country’s investment competitiveness,
some of the challenges. consideration is also given to research pertain-
The CIS aims to position South Africa as a ing to incentives in addition to measures recom-
key preferred African investment destination mended to improve the transparency, efficiency
by attracting and facilitating quality foreign and and effectiveness of existing incentives schemes.”
domestic direct investment (FDI, DDI). The CIS seeks to provide a clear and strate-
“The CIS aims to achieve this through cat- gic direction for the country’s investment drive
alysing a new investment model to address towards shaping a post-Covid-19 economy
current under-investment; attracting quality and facilitating improved alignment between
greenfield investments into South Africa; iden- investment and economic growth in South
tifying high-impact and high-growth industries Africa. It also aims to align the efforts of various
which will accelerate contributions to GDP; investment mandate holders in the country to
supporting existing industries and developing co-ordinate investment coherently in addition
new industries; consolidating and strengthen- to ensuring alignment between various secto-
ing existing capacity in identified priority sec- rial masterplans; building on the comparative
tors through enhancing policy certainty; and advantage of each locality.
targeting areas of intervention, accompanied According to the document, South Africa
by the mobilisation of resources and improved is one of the world’s most open economies. Its
institutional co-ordination,” the document says. infrastructure performs well in comparison to
The unemployment rate in the country fell others in the region, but the transport mix is
to 34.5% in the first quarter of 2022. A World inefficient, mainly due to diminishing efficien-
Bank report released three months ago says, 28 cies, quality and pricing in rail, ports and rural
years after the collapse of apartheid, called South and district roads.
Africa remains the world’s most unequal society, “The successful implementation of the CIS is
with about 10% of the population owning 80% of dependent on the collective buy-in of all stake-
the wealth. Race, the document notes, is a deter- holders within and outside of government, with
mining factor. On poverty, official figures say the presidency leading the process,” it adds.
about 49,2% of the adult population in a coun-
try of about 60mn live below the upper-bound
poverty line.
P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 02•June•2022
