South Africa’s Infrastructure Minister Touts Construction Boom

(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s new infrastructure minister called for a doubling of public sector investment to help fuel a construction boom in the country.

The industry also needs to crack down on criminal activity to help foster private investment, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson said at a conference in Cape Town on Tuesday.

“We need to attract more private sector development,” said Macpherson, who was appointed to the position last month. The government is targeting an increase in public sector capital investment to 10% of gross domestic product by 2030, compared with 5.4% now, he said.

Macpherson plans to form an infrastructure advisory committee to oversee projects and develop long-term timelines.

Disruptions to construction by criminal activities that cost the industry 40 billion rand ($2.2 billion) in 2020 are being scrutinized, he said. The response by the police has been inadequate and anyone who seeks to hold back the projects should be regarded as an “enemy of the state,” Macpherson said.

Low expenditure levels in infrastructure, especially in municipalities, is also of concern, according to Macpherson. New funding models and financing from the private sector are needed to address that, he said. 

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