As POWER-GEN Africa and DistribuTECH gears itself to address the issue of what needs to be done to equip utilities for the future, the South Africa government has been making headway on the subject of how to finance that development.
In his annual Budget Speech on 27 February 2013, the Minister of Finance Mr. Pravin Gordhan said: “The NDP reminds us that “South Africa needs to invest in a strong network of economic infrastructure designed to support the country’s medium and long-term economic and social objectives.
“Over the next three years, R827 billion is planned to be spent by the fiscus and state-owned companies to build infrastructure. The financing for these projects is in place, and is not affected by the spending cuts in the budget.
“The fiscus has allocated just under R430 billion for schools, hospitals, clinics, dams, water and electricity distribution networks, electrification of over a million new homes, sanitation schemes, building more courtrooms and prisons, and improved bus, commuter rail and road links. Most of the spending falls under provinces and municipalities.
“Eskom, Transnet and other State-Owned Companies fund a further R400 billion of projects. This will be financed both through own resources and additional borrowing over the next three years, supported by Treasury guarantees.
“This will pay for the ongoing building of power generation plants and new transmission lines, investment in rail, ports and pipelines, large new water transfer schemes, and various airport upgrades.”
With the budget allocated and the financing in place, South Africa’s decision makers will be well placed to act decisively at POWER-GEN Africa and DistribuTECH Africa 2014.
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