(POLITICAL ANALYSIS SA) South Africa and Angola to collaborate on infrastructure development

South Africa and Angola to collaborate on infrastructure development
July 22, 2012
Luanda, Angola

South Africa and Angola, through the Regional Spatial Development Initiative Programme (RSDIP) and the Industrial Development Institute of Angola (IDIA), have signed an agreement on technical cooperation.

The agreement is aimed at further stimulating infrastructure development in Angola, according to South African deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Elizabeth Thabethe on Sunday.

“The intention of the agreement is to support the infrastructure development that is currently taking place in Angola and make sure that small and big industries are supported through such programmes,” Thabethe said.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Thabethe said the South African government was committed to taking the implementation of the programme to the next level, as infrastructure development was high on Pretoria’s priority list.

Angola’s deputy Minister of Geology, Mines and Industry, Kiala Gabriel, said the agreement would assist with the infrastructure backlog that his country was currently facing.

“We acknowledge the work done by the South African government and businesses in our country. We are now saying our market is ready for investment and cooperation with other countries,” Gabriel said.

The agreement emanates from the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade and Industrial Cooperation the Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and his counterpart in Angola signed in 2009.

The agreement also marks a great step forward for South Africa – Angola relations. South Africa had until 2009 largely ignored the Angolan market and South African business activity in that country was mostly driven by private businesses mainly in the IT and financial sectors and such businesses rarely liaised with the South African government.

The move also opens great opportunities for an ailing South African economy, with Angola needing an estimated ZAR 20bn spending on infrastructure following years of civil war. Angola is also a top exporter of oil and draws the greatest foreign direct investment (FDI) on the African continent; mostly from China, Russia and Brazil.

- Political Analysis South Africa/APA/SAN