SA’s infrastructure future depends on fixing bankability, not capital allocation

As we reach the midway point of Africa Month, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect on the direction of investment in infrastructure, specifically in South Africa. Why infrastructure, you may ask? Because, as President Cyril Ramaphosa noted at the recent South Africa Infrastructure Investment Summit, “infrastructure is the next great frontier of investment”. I had the good fortune of participating in the summit as part of a seminal panel discussion examining the importance of partnerships in solving funding blockages. President Ramaphosa also noted at the summit that “private capital and expertise is critical to Africa’s infrastructure progress”. We share this assessment wholeheartedly. According to a joint World Bank and Development Bank of Southern Africa report on infrastructure funding, South Africa requires R13 trillion to modernise its transport and logistics systems. This is an existential challenge that cannot be met by the public sector alone, as the president and members of his cabinet have widely acknowledged. In approaching this mammoth task, government rhetoric has been matched by important steps to reform key sectors of the economy. Policy initiatives such as Operation Vulindlela, the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) and the forward-thinking Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) have undoubtedly accelerated progress and added substantial momentum to support the government’s infrastructure investment ambitions. These initiatives have collectively increased traction in key sectors. Much has been done, but more still needs to be achieved. The country has set an ambitious infrastructure investment target of R3 trillion, or US$180 billion, over the next five years, as announced at the summit. This sounds daunting, but South Africa’s infrastructure ambitions are not constrained by a lack of capital; they are adversely affected by a lack of bankable opportunities. This distinction is critical. For years, the domi