Photo: WEF The world gathered in Davos, Switzerland this past week, for the World Economic Forum 2013 annual meeting. South Africa was well-represented at the Forum by government and the private sector, and together we set out to market our beautiful country which has so many positive attributes.
While the audiences were warmly receptive to our message, we could not help but notice the subconscious prejudice against our beautiful continent, although this may have been unintended.
For example, the first session I participated in, was a panel discussion entitled; "De-risking Africa; What are African leaders doing to mitigate investment risks?"
This means Africa is still considered as an investment risk!
Fortunately fellow panellists and the audience agreed that viewing Africa as a risk was an erroneous exaggeration. Doing business can be a risk in any part of the world as recent developments in the developed North have indicated.
The reality is that Africa is becoming a remarkable success story. In 2010, six of the world's ten fastest growing economies were in Africa, and seven African countries are expected to be in the top 10 over the next five years.
Africa's output is expected to expand by 50% by 2015. Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita stood at US$1,630 in 2010. It is expected to increase to US$2,200 by 2015, at a real annual growth rate of 5.7%, resulting in a 30% rise in the continent's spending power.
Africa's consumer sectors - goods, telecom and banking, amongst others - present the largest opportunity and are already growing two to three times faster than those countries belonging to the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The rate of return on foreign investment in Africa is higher than in any other region in the world. This is not surprising given the competitive edge of the continent.
Africa's advantages include its extraordinary mineral wealth and agricultural potential. It has a young working population and a growing middle class with considerable and growing purchasing power.
Almost each African country has been working hard, introducing wide-ranging measures that improve the climate for investment - both foreign and domestic.
Currently we encourage foreign investment in the massive infrastructure programme that we have embarked upon in Africa.
This includes the programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the Presidential Infrastructure Champions Initiative, with the flagship programme being the North-South Corridor, which South Africa has the honour to champion.
Domestically in South Africa, we have an infrastructure programme in place that will cost at least four trillion rand in the next 15 years. The continent is growing and is on the move.
Under the auspices of the African Union we have launched an ambitious programme towards continental integration. As a first step, we have made considerable progress in the Tripartite Initiative that draws together countries of Eastern and Southern Africa.
By 2015 we expect to establish a free trade area amongst these countries, combining the markets of 26 countries with a population of nearly 600 million people and a combined GDP of US$1 trillion.
Importantly, this will form the basis for an Africa-wide Free Trade Area, which could create a single market of US$2.6 trillion.
It is important to emphasise that the so-called "risks" in investing Africa are often more perception than reality.
When Moody's analysed the performance of 20 years of project finance loans, accounting for about 45 percent of all projects financed since 1983, they found that only one project out of 92 in Africa had defaulted.
Estimates from the African Development Bank suggest that companies participating in infrastructure investments in Africa can earn commercial rates of return from 5 to 10 percent in the water sector, 17 to 25 percent in the power sector and 25 to 30 percent in telecoms. Across sectors, infrastructure investments average returns of between 15 and 20 percent.
In fact, returns on foreign investment in African infrastructure are higher than in any other developing region. African independent power projects, for example, have earned their investors internal rates of return of up to 25 percent, compared with 15 percent in Latin America and 12 percent in Eastern Europe.
There is a lot more that is happening in the continent, for example the many conflict resolution and peacemaking missions.
Africa must systematically share its positive stories and deal with these negative perceptions and stereotyping.
Sadly, in many of the foreign forums that we participate in, some of the people who are most critical and negative about Africa, at times, tend to be Africans. North Americans or Europeans are battling economically currently but when their nationals speak anywhere in the world, they talk positively in a manner that says the problems are being solved.
We definitely need a new mindset in Africa and also in South Africa, a renewed patriotism and love of the continent and its people. I agreed to a suggestion by the South African business delegation at a meeting with South African business in Davos, that there should be a government-business lekgotla soon to tackle all issues relating to promoting economic development. At this session we will be able to work out a programme of the implementation of the National Development Plan and discuss other major programmes of government.
The meeting will also assist to iron out any possible misconceptions.Our country needs such an intensive dialogue.
From 26 to 28 January, we are gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the 20th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The summit, taking place in the 50th year of the Organisation for African Unity, provides an opportunity to re-assert Africa's position in the world.
We are proud of being part of this continent and will continue playing our role in its development and positioning in world affairs.
From Davos to Addis Ababa, we communicate one message, that Africa is rising and is a continent of hope. Africa has a bright future.
Issued by: The Presidency
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PRESIDENT ZUMA SIAD UNFORTUNATELY THE MOST NEGATIVE OF SPEAKERS ABOUT AFRICAS DEVELOPMENT WERE AFRICANS::: WOW!!!! THIS IS A LOW ESTEEM PROBLEM , SELF HATERS'; THEY WHOLE HEARTEDLY EMBRACED EVERYTHING THE WEST HAS RAMMED DOWN THIER THROATS'. THEY BELIEVE ALL THE STEREOTYPES N B.S.AND IS QUICK TO PUT A BLACK MAN DOWN. THESE SORTS OF PEOPLE ARE JUST LOST, THEY ARE LOYAL DOGS TO THE SINKING SHIP THEY WILL DIE WITH THIER MASTERS"". WHEN AFRICANS BELIEVE TRULY BELIEVE THAT AFRICA IS THE GENISI" WHERE IT ALL BEGAN; WHEN THEY LET GO OF THE THEORETICAL FANTASY THAT IS BEING ESPOUSED BY THE WEST AND TRULY EXAMINE THE EARTH. LOOK AT ALL THE STEREOTYPES AND THE PROPGANDA IN DEPTH AND YOU WILL SEE HOW TRULY FAR ADAVCED AFRICANS ARE." JUST FOR POSTERITY I WILL SAY THIS WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON TODAY IN MALI THIS HAPPENED FIVE CENTURIES AGO WITH THE SAME PLAYERS. HISTORY DOES REPEAT ITSELF.. THE WEST ON SIDE LOOKING TO ENSLAVE AND THE WHITE ARABS THAT CAME TO TEACH AFRICANS WHO TO BE MUSLIMS ALSO TO ENSLAVE, EXACT SAME THING! THEY DID THE SAME THING BURNED THE UNIVERSITY OF TIMBUKTU TO THE GROUND. THIS IS WAHT THE MILITANTS THESE EXTREMIST WHO ARE NOT EVEN MUSLIMS DID RECENTLY; THEY CAN NOT EVEN READ AND WRIT? YET THEY WANT TO GO INTO AFRICA AND TEACH THE ORIGINAL MUSLIMS HOW TO BE MUSLIMS????. THESE MYTHS ABOUT AFRICA HAS DERIVED FROM THE WEST EVEN SPILLING OVER TO AFRICA WHERE NORTH AFRICANS DO NOT KNOW THEY ARE OF MIXED RACE HERITAGE THAT THIER FOREFATHERS WERE POLYGAMIST WHO HAD MANY WOMEN INCLUDING MANY WHITES AS THIER WIVES!!!!!!!THESE SO CALLED ARABS THINK THAT EBCAUSE THEY SEEM TO BE MORE IN NUMBERS THAT THERE ARE NOT ANY TRUE MUSLIMS OTHER THAN THEY. WHAT HAS HAPPENED DURING THE MEDIEVEL PERIOD THE WHITE ARABS THE COLOURED ARABS THE EUREOEANS DECIDED ON COMBINING THIER BOOKS SO THEY CO EXISTED AS ONE PRINCIPLED RELIGION WITH THIER HEGEMONS CONTROLING THE EARTH AS IT WAS THEN., EUROPE EXTENDED ITS INFLUINCE TO NORTH AMERICA WHILE THE NEW ARABS WENT TO ASIA. THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF IT. ONETHING IS TRUE THEY DECIDED TO COOPT THIER RELIGIONS TO DEMONISE THE OPRIGINAL PEOPLE PARTICIPANTS OF THE SCRIPTURES. AFRICANS EVEN THOUGH WAS PRIMARILY MUSLIM WAS IGNORED BY COLOURED MUSLIMS WHO SIDED WEITH WHITES TO ENSLAVE THIER OWN BROTHERS AND SISTERS. HENCE WE HEAR ALL THE PROOGANDA OF HOW ONE SUN WAS CURSED BY HSI FATHER TO BECOME A SLAVE FO THE OTHER. WHAT IS FANTASY ABOUT THAT IS THAT THE WHITE FATHER OCULD NOT HAVE A BLACK SON WITH MELANIN!!!!!! SO WE KNOW THAT TO BE FALSE! AS THE FATHER WAS BLACK WHO COULD HAVE A WHITE SON. THE STORY WAS CHANGED TO FIT THE PURPOSE AS WE SEE THOSE THAT STILL THINK THAT THE ZIONIST ARE TRULY THE ISRAELITES WHAT THEY SAY IS IS THIS HOW JEWS AND MUSLIMS LIVED TOGETHER IN EUROPE ??? YES THEY DID ,THAT,WAS DURING THE MOORISH PERIOD WHEN THE ISRAELITES FROM WEST AFRICA WERE PART OF THE EXPORT TO EUROPE AS THEY BOTH WERE MONOTHESEIST THEY WERE BOTH BLACK THEY LIVED HARMOPNIOUSLY. IF YOU VIEW SOME VERY EARLY PICTURES OF GERMAN SO CALLED H JEWS YOU WILL SEE SOME VERY ENLIGHETNING PHOTGRAPHS OF MIXED RACE ORTHODOX WHO PRIMARILY RESEMBLED BLACKS. AGAIN THIS IS ANOTHER STORY IF ONLY MY BROTHERS WOULD SEARCH THE RIGHT PLACES FOR KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING BLACK HISTORY. READ THE HISTORY OF BLACK AFRICANS WORLD WIDE WRITTEN PHOTGRAPHED BY AN ARCHAEOLOGIST WHO WAS A WRITER FROM JAMAICA DURING THE MARCUS GARVEY PERIOD. HE TRAVELED AND ESCAVATED THE PLANET WITH THE BEST, HE WROTE "FROM SUPERMAN TO MAN" J A ROGGERS THE GREAT SCHOLAR.