The struggle to get commercial bankability for projects along with the dependency on the fiscus to fund it all had to change, said Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, head of the President’s investment infrastructure office.The former Gauteng economic MEC said the ongoing inability of the state not only to prepare projects but package them was concerning as was the haemorrhaging of the country’s technical skills.He said the fiscus could not fund every single project in the country and a rethink wa s nec e ssa r y.“We all know there are fiscal head winds,” he said. “The President remains of the opinion that infrastructure and investment are indispensable to the country.”According to Ramokgopa the misalignment around the deployment of resources across the three spheres of government – national, provincial and local – was worrying, cumbersome and onerous for investors and project developers.“ We have to create a more horizontal and vertical integration across all of government,” he said. “Practically speaking, for example, a company would need a water licence which requires engagement at national level, environmental licences which is provincial, and then maybe zoning for their project which is then municipal. To get all of this in place could take up to 26 months of engaging with all the various depar tments.”This, said Ramokgopa, was clearly a stumbling block which was why government was moving towards a single window concept. Instead of a company having to go from pillar to post across government spheres they would interact at one point on ly, whi le government would interact with each other behind the scene.“They need not go across the different levels of government. It is cumbersome and onerous and time consuming. One of the major battles is the rigidity of the legislative environment. My office will be advocating for policy reforms.”Ramokgopa said doing business needed to become easier if South Africa wanted to turn its economy around.Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, said the conditions were right for government to think and act more boldly and aggressively.“There have to be considerations around policy reform. We have to show that South Africa has the agility to make decisions rapidly.”Mantashe said at present projects were being held up by policies and regulations, with the average period to get them off the ground being anything from three to five years.“We have to create an environment and eco system where it takes only eight months.”
INSERT: Instead of a company having to go from pillar to post across government spheres they would interact at one point only.– Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa
