The partnership and relationship between South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will deepen further and the UAE has been invited to the G20 summit in Johannesburg next year, said South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean William Macpherson, at the inaugural The Africa Debate – UAE forum by Invest Africa in the emirate of Dubai on Thursday.
In a brief chat with FORBES AFRICA on the sidelines of the summit, Macpherson also reflected on South Africa’s pathways to creating better infrastructure and some of the “innovative financing” being looked at, particularly the project preparation fund, “the first of its kind” in South Africa launched in mid-October for economic growth and job creation.
“The interest has been unbelievable for that, and in fact, I’ve had a number of equity funds that have approached me saying they want to get involved in bid window too so we can really scale up and leverage the funds the government is putting in now with the private sector, which is exactly the foundation of our new infrastructure plan. It’s about collaboration between the state and the private sector on how we can build infrastructure quicker, smarter and in a more transparent way,” Macpherson told FORBES AFRICA.
The 39-year-old minister said he had fruitful bilateral meetings with the UAE’s ministers of economy and foreign affairs.
“They are young chaps like myself committed to making their countries better. And we’re already talking on WhatsApp. South Africa and the UAE share a very important historical relationship.”
Loading...
His last trip to Dubai was 20 years ago but the minister says he may be returning more regularly through 2025. “I can only see our relationship deepening and growing.”
South Africa is set to host Africa’s first-ever G20 summit in 2025, and the UAE has been invited as “special guests”.
“They are one of, I think, five countries we have invited… and to all our ministerial meetings. There’s a lot we can learn. And that’s the commitment the ministers have given me,” said Macpherson, whose planned itinerary in the UAE also included visits to infrastructure projects such as Dubai’s ports.
“The UAE are really kings of infrastructure, they have understood how to rapidly scale up an economy through infrastructure-led growth, which is crucial.”
To woo investors, South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) coalition government is also “seized with” creating safer communities and more jobs, which the different political parties all agree on, added the minister.
“We’ve seen a more robust approach to crime-fighting [in the last six months since coming to power], and we welcome that… I need that in order to protect our projects and give investors the confidence. People [here in the UAE] are more interested in opportunities. I think that they’ve drawn a line with the problematic years we’ve had in the country, and they see new young leaders coming in through government, and they are saying this is the kind of vision we’re looking to support…. And [South Africa has] a lot of good business cases to be made.
In his opening remarks at the summit, before a panel discussion on Closing Africa’s Infrastructure Gaps, Macpherson reiterated that he would like to turn South Africa into “a construction site”.
To FORBES AFRICA, he re-emphasized the importance of the private sector in this regard.
“…We only have a billion rand that has been set aside for project preparation. And intentionally, we’re saying to investors that we are going to prepare these projects, we’re going to fund them properly so they are bankable, it’s now in your hands to come and join us. You make the profits, you build it, as long as it’s done on time and on budget, everyone can make something out of it. So, we are purposely saying to the private sector, we need you.
“I was in Asia a couple of weeks ago, bringing in a new multilateral bank that’s never done business in South Africa. I’m taking a personal approach to this, as I said, if you have got the money, you have got my attention. I’m prepared to put in the hours and fly around the world to see people, as long as we get those projects going.”
Loading...