South Africa explores West Africa`s investment opportunities

Sierra Leone President Koroma with a visiting SA envoy last year (Credit-State House, Freetown)

South Africa is studying investment opportunities in West Africa as part of a drive to reinforce its presence in the sub region.

A delegation of South African Trade and Industry officials has just concluded a week-long tour of Sierra Leone, which was preceded by similar visits to Ivory Coast, Ghana and Liberia.

Head of delegation and Director of West Africa Programme at the Department of Trade and Industry of South African, Madam Sindiswa Mququ, cited the ideal business environment in Sierra Leone and singled out its virgin tourism sector as particularly attractive.

The visiting delegation toured ten ministries including

the Trade and Industry ministry, the Sierra Leone Ports Authority, the Sierra Leone Investment and Export promotion Agency, and the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce.

According to Ms Mququ, a follow up team of technical experts from SA will be visiting West Africa next March which will be followed by the signing of MoU between the two governments.

Presently, Nigeria and Ghana enjoys the greatest chunk of South African investment in the sub region, mainly in the area of telecommunications.

But experts say as the largest economy on the continent, South Africa`s investment in Africa is far below expectation.

Nearly 90 per cent of the former Apartheid country’s trade is focused on SADC countries.

Yet two of what are considered as emerging strategic energy markets in the world, East and West Africa, receive just 10 per cent of its inbound trade and investment.

Sierra Leone is among the least beneficiary of South African investments.

Unlike neighboring Liberia, the Southern African nation doesn’t have ambassador in Sierra Leone, only a low key consular.

However, there are historical ties.

Private South African militaries were instrumental in Sierra Leone`s civil war.

Recently, there have been attempts at South African intervention in the power generation sector in the West African country.

The two countries were also discussing possibility of training Sierra Leoneans in the Foreign Service.

In 2011, South Africa undertook to sponsor the deployment of 32 Cuban medical doctors to help Sierra Leone`s struggling health sector.

And most recently, last year, South African telecommunications giant, Vodacom, was exploring chances to invest in the increasingly competitive Sierra Leonean market.

Madam Nomasonto Ntisanto, Deputy Director of the Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, said the creation of job remains a major challenge for Africa in the coming years, and that this needed to be given priority by governments.

She hinted interest in the electricity sector which she said was holding back infrastructure and business development in Sub Saharan Africa.

“So we need to target more investments into this critical sector,” she said.