Africa setting goals is key to thriving partnerships, says Ramaphosa

African countries participating in the G20 Compact with Africa must be able to define their goals and needs to enable the partnership to succeed, said President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday.

He commended German businesspeople for supporting his initiatives of renewals and economic recovery and added he was prepared to listen to the concerns of investors about South Africa.

He told the G20 Investment Summit in Berlin, Germany that it was significant that Compact initiative was developed as a partnership where each country was able to define its own priorities.

“This is critical for ensuring the success and continuity of the Compact. The Compact with Africa also represents a firm political commitment from participating African countries to new developmental and governance approaches that will unlock economic activity,” he said.

Countries participating in the partnership demonstrated the value of global cooperation and coordination towards an industrialised, prosperous Africa.

“Since its launch in 2017, we have already witnessed progress… We now have a list of flagship projects … which are identified and earmarked for investment,” Ramaphosa said.

He announced the plan for South Africa and the African Development Bank to host the inaugural Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg next week. The forum brings together international financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors.

“This event presents an opportunity to showcase improved investment conditions, as well as concrete private sector activity into [African] countries.

“These initiatives complement our own efforts in South Africa, where we launched an ambitious investment drive earlier this year to raise $100 billion in new investment over the next five years,” Ramaphosa said.

Earlier Ramaphosa commended German investors for their continued engagement with South Africa, citing the about 600 companies which employed more than 100 000 people.

Speaking at a breakfast engagement, he said his government was leading an effort to energise South Africans to work in unison to end corruption and achieve sustainable, inclusive growth.

Expanded investment was needed to reduce the high rate of unemployment in South Africa.

Later he heard the Germans explaining their experiences in South Africa, including some of the challenges of doing business but he told them that his government would address (their concerns) as a matter of priority.

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