Electricity and Control July 2020

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Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium

O n 23 June 2020, as this issue goes into production, President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the inaugural Sus- tainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA). The symposium, hosted by The Presidency, focused on the theme: ‘Investing in infrastructure for shared prosperity: now, next and beyond’. It comes at a critical juncture when South Africa charts a course for economic recovery in the post Covid-19 period. Government has affirmed that catalytic infrastructure investment can contribute to higher long-term growth, ad- dress spatial disparities, transform the economy and create urgently needed jobs. The infrastructure projects earmarked to revive the economy focus on the network industries of water, transport, energy and digital infrastructure as well as sectors with high job creation capacity such human settlements, agriculture and agro-processing. The symposium was the culmination of a vigorous consultative process held with stakeholders over the preceding weeks to mobilise support and cooperation

on the revised Infrastructure Investment Plan. The process, involving stakeholders across the public and private sectors, was led by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Ms Patricia de Lille, and Head of the Investment and Infrastructure office in the Presidency, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The revised plan focuses on partnerships between the public and private sector for the delivery of sustainable, fit- for-purpose infrastructure. The SIDSSA projects, which are to be gazetted following the symposium, were selected from an initial 177 that were subjected to a rigorous due diligence process. The priority in the immediate term is to go ahead with those projects that best support the aims of government, which include creating jobs, alleviating poverty, growing the economy, and promoting a better-quality life for all citizens. Prior to the symposium, government hosted a series of pitch sessions that afforded project sponsors an audience with over 60 national and international funding institutions. These included multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, asset managers, and commercial banks.

In addition to facilitating access to the funding needed to implement the projects, the SIDSSA process, seeks to overcome regulatory obstacles to infrastructure roll-out by developing a framework for fast-tracking approval processes, facilitating quicker executive decisions in the short- and medium- term, and influencing legislation to support developmental imperatives. The SIDSSA was hosted virtual- ly and attracted a national and in- ternational audience. Speakers, all experts in their respective fields, provided valuable insights on how to implement the Infrastructure In- vestment Plan successfully.

For more information visit: www.sidssa.org.za

DIARY DATES – With almost all conferences and exhibitions being cancelled, rescheduled or staged virtually, as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, Electricity + Control will reintroduce the column of Diary Dates once the global outlook regains a level of stability.

32 Electricity + Control JULY 2020