Case Studies on the Impact of South African Mining Investment in Africa

132 Kb

Mining has always been an important economic activity in Africa, but especially since colonial times, large volumes of minerals have been mined and processed for international markets. From the first diamond rush in South Africa in the early 1870s, Africa’s mineral economy has grown significantly, and the continent has become a strategic producer of precious raw materials. Today, mining makes the largest contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of many African states.

Globalisation and Economic Success: Policy Options for Africa

125 Kb

This project focuses on the nexus between politics and economics in identifying and codifying lessons from high-growth economies appropriate in the African context and consistent with the plans of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The programme aims to pinpoint the relevant macro- and microeconomic steps necessary for higher rates of economic growth in countries that have undergone significant political change and have dealt with acute sociopolitical challenges. These countries have been selected on the basis of their relevance for Africa and further afield. This programme is thus both policy- and businessrelevant, and its findings will feed into wider national and continental debates. Participants have been selected from academic, business and government communities located all across the world.

Fitting China In Africa

62 Kb

‘China’s irruption onto the African scene has been the most dramatic and important factor in the external relations of the continent – perhaps in the development of Africa as a whole – since the end of the Cold War’. However, ‘China is likely to adapt to and modify the African experience, but is extremely unlikely fundamentally to change it.’ In this, he notes, ‘In the longer term, no external power with long-term economic interests in Africa, especially in vulnerable enterprises such as mineral extraction, can escape the issue of ‘governance’, because this is the essential precondition for maintaining stable economic relationships’. In fact, ‘In cutting itself off from changes in African governance over the past two decades, China runs the risk of presenting itself merely as an interloper bent on short-term economic gain.’

A Three-Country Study of African Agriculture

129 Kb

This three-country study of agriculture in Africa examines two main elements of agriculture in Africa: First, the potential for agro-industrial development; and second, the obstacles to an export-led agro-industry in Africa. Looking specifically at the findings of research in the three countries, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, the study highlights the huge potential for agriculture in Africa but equally highlights what is hindering the realisation of that potential.

Africa-China-US Dialogue

192 Kb

This Brenthurst Discussion Paper comprises a report from the first Africa-China-US Trilateral Dialogue held at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve on 4-6 August 2006.

The Construction Industry and long-term Economic Growth in South Africa

93 Kb

This Paper by Pierre Blauuw, Chief Economist at the SA Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC), examines the role of the construction sector in the South African economy, and concludes:

The construction sector literally lays the foundations for economic growth through the provision of economic and social infrastructure. Although the effects of the sector contributions to economic growth and employment creation are normally captured through direct, indirect and induced multipliers, there is also a longer term ‘supply-side effect’ that must be taken into consideration. Currently the South African construction sector employs an estimated 450,000 to 600,000 people, and total activity is in the region of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

This ‘supply-side effect’ relates to the long-term effects of fixed investment. The real contribution of the sector to gross domestic product growth is captured in the provision of infrastructure to unlock bottlenecks and ensure that sectors in the economy can operate competitively in the global economy, as well as attract and stimulate new investment.

Given the renewed focus on infrastructure as a result of growing awareness of backlogs and bottlenecks, it would seem that the country is moving in the right direction. The impact of the investment will yield direct positive returns and increase growth for many years to come.

The 2,000-Day Challenge: Planning an end to aid in Africa

65 Kb

The use of aid as a development tool is a contentious issue. After nearly 50 years of independence and development efforts backed by more than half a trillion dollars of Western aid, most of Africa’s citizens are poorer than ever. A radical review of donor aid policy is surely long overdue.

The discussion falls between the moralists, who argue that the world is obliged to provide aid to Africa and other developing nations, and the sceptics, who dispute the feasibility of aid as a development tool. Yet there is a middle path between the two extremes that suggests we should employ aid specifically for humanitarian purposes; and also with a clear and targeted strategy and for a limited period for Africa’s development.

This middle path would lead to Africa and its donors committing themselves to phasing out Western aid over the next five years, with the aim of replacing foreign lending by African resources, drawing on a combination of:

• higher domestic savings;
• greater use of land ownership and houses as collateral;
• implementing incentives to secure a higher share of FDI;
• taking advantage of international trade reforms;
• implementing measures to encourage the private sector and reverse capital flight, including an amnesty for those who have broken the law by illegally sending money abroad; and
• tougher action by banks to stem illegal transfers.

Rationalisation or Redundancy? Strategies for Making Africa's Regional Trade Units Relevant

317 Kb

This study evaluates the imperative for regional economic unit rationalisation in line with NEPAD's recommendations in this regard, focusing in particular in Southern Africa on a key question: What can be done to make these units more relevant and responsive to business needs?

African Scenarios for 2020

124 Kb

This paper identifies three scenarios for Africa in 2020: Where Africa takes charge, where it follows, and a ‘patchwork quilt’ where some countries lead and others fall behind. But there will not be one scenario for Africa in 2020. Instead, the continent’s countries will be an increasingly confused set of extremes. Rather than provide simple ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘high’ road outcomes, the analysis focuses first on ‘drivers’: those forces that will propel change across Africa. Another possible determinant of which scenario is taken up is continental leadership. African governments need a continual stream of new ideas and dynamism if they are to drive the reform agenda. Twenty years of experience suggests that government alone cannot provide all of these ideas, much less the energy to drive them.

Implications of China's Economic Takeoff for Africa

138 Kb

This study considers the impact of China on African producers, and assesses what African policy-makers can do to both try to take advantage of the Chinese growth phenomenon and avoid the costs to domestic industry.