‘Africa’s poor infrastructure is an opportunity for private investors’

Development in Africa requires strategic partnerships at three levels, says Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Nepad Planning and Coordinating Agency CEO. Speaking at a dinner for Nepad ambassadors and business executives in Midrand recently, he called for partnership among Africans; partnership between African countries and subregions; and partnership with the rest of the world. The 10-year anniversary of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development this year also offers a platform for deeper reflection, he said. “It is an occasion for stock-taking of our work in the past and a look into the future while working on the present,” said Mayaki. According to Stanley Subramoney, chairman of the Nepad Business Foundation (NBF) and panel member at the event, Africa’s challenge is its inability to compete in a global landscape due to its aged infrastructure. However “while the capital needed to drive infrastructure development in Africa is massive, this provides good business opportunities for the private sector to get involved in smart strategic partnerships with the public sector. Africa is the growth continent,” Subramoney, noted. Experts agreed focus also needed to remain on the North-South corridor, with a major proposal to upgrade and extend land transport links (road and rail) in southern Africa. This is part of the group of seven projects prioritised by Nepad. According to Dr Cassius Lubis, a recent assessment on the North-South corridor showed that there were 260kms of road projects that were ready for funding. The estimated cost of this totals US$ 551 million. Currently there are no private investors in the project. “If you look at Africa and its rail and road infrastructure you notice that rail moves from countries to ports. The purpose is to export to other countries outside of Africa which established this trend of Africa not trading with itself,” Lubisi said. All of this, according to Nepad, points to Africa being the next business opportunity. “Africa is ready for business and is a ready market for genuine investors.”