The Western Cape’s
enhanced African
Agenda is gradually
coming together
with a second partnership
agreement in its sights.
Its aim is to prioritise the
Western Cape in Africa in
order to connect with more
markets on the continent and
to grow trade.
As part of this process
the City of Cape Town is
signing formal agreements
with African counterparts.
Last year it entered its
first agreement – a Sister
City Agreement – with
Bujumbura in Burundi.
Now it has formalised
relations with Luanda
in Angola following an
investment tour to the country
by Mayor Patricia de Lille and
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris.
Viewed as an important
investment location, Luanda
is also seen as a centre of
innovation that is inspiring
the next phase of growth in
Africa. It is poised to move
into the ‘megacity’ class as
its population is expected
to grow to 10 million
inhabitants within the next
20 to 30 years, making it one
of the fastest growing cities
in Africa. It is also predicted
that Luanda will be among
the 140 richest cities in
the world due to its oil and
diamond industries.
“The Angolan government
has recently prioritised the
diversification of its economy
in order to reduce its reliance
on oil,” said a spokesman
for De Lille. “They have
expressed their interest
in exploring agriculture,
infrastructure development
and manufacturing which
are all sectors in which our
region has a competitive
advantage.”
De Lille met with the
governor of Luanda,
Graciano Francisco
Domingos,
to discuss the
prospect of
signing a draft
partnership
agreement
between the
City of Cape
Town and
Luanda.
Once the
agreement has
been signed,
the two cities
will undertake to create an
integrated and sustainable
relationship.
According to De Lille cities
are currently key drivers of
economic growth globally.
“And we are bound to
experience similar challenges
on our respective growth
paths. We can however
change those challenges into
opportunities by sharing
our experiences and in turn
developing
best practice,”
she said
following her
trip to Angola.
Research
by Wesgro
indicates that
the Western
Cape’s exports
to Angola
increased by
12% in 2013
reaching
R 2.5 billion. Between
2003 and June 2014 a
total of nine FDI projects
were recorded from the
Western Cape to Angola,
representing a total capital
investment of R1.3 billion.
INSERT & CAPTION
The Western Cape’s
exports to Angola
increased by 12% in
2013.
– Patricia de Lille
