South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday urged his country’s financial sector to invest in much-needed infrastructure at both national and community levels.
“Overall infrastructure investment needs to grow to 30% by 2030 to achieve our NDP (National Development Plan) growth targets,” the president said when he met heads of commercial banks and multilateral development finance institutions in Cape Town.
According to the president, the country’s “multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and the private sector have a critical role in financing and implementing this investment.”
Ramaphosa told bankers that his government has witnessed the speedy worsening of the country’s most important assets needed to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
He said the deterioration of municipal water infrastructure such as waste water treatment works and water treatment plants undermined the economy and threatened access to basic services.
“The disintegration of provincial and municipal roads will affect the efficiency of the road network, stunt economic growth and increase the cost of transport for all road users,” he added.
NM/jn/APA