Research and analysis

South Africa: visit of the Lord Mayor of London

Published 22 September 2014

This research and analysis was withdrawn on

This publication was archived on 5 August 2016. This article is no longer current. Please refer to Overseas Business Risk - South Africa.

0.1 This publication was archived on 5 August 2016.

This article is no longer current. Please refer to Overseas Business Risk - South Africa.

0.2 Summary

Excellent visit focussed on the National Development Plan, including through energy and infrastructure collaboration. Range of high level meetings with five Ministers; two Mayors; Western Cape premier; ANC Treasurer General ; Johannesburg Stock Exchange; Reserve Bank Governor and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Major events and opportunities in areas of regional energy, infrastructure, education, science and cyber crime in the financial sector. Baroness Scotland’s focus on education and legal matters also opened up considerable scope for collaboration.

0.3 Detail

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Fiona Woolf, visited South Africa from 7-11 September, accompanied by Baroness Scotland, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for South Africa and a multi-faceted business delegation. Coupled with a parallel programme for the Minister for Africa. The visitors were warmly received and at a high level. The key theme was UK support for delivery of South Africa’s National Development plan, an integrated plan to deliver a modern South Africa, particularly through engagement on energy and infrastructure development.

The NDP

Calls on the Minister for Trade and Industry and the Minister in the Presidency charged with delivery of the NDP identified opportunities for British business in delivering NDP priority areas of infrastructure, energy, education and science and technology. Skills gaps came up in most of the Lord Mayor’s discussions and were covered in depth in the Baroness Scotland-hosted education forum. Science and innovation was covered in depth in the excellent Newton Fund launch event.

Energy

The Lord Mayor’s specialisation in energy law offered a unique opportunity to engage with Cape Town City economic development officials to identify opportunities in waste management, waste to energy, urban broadband and integrated transport systems. For South Africa to implement the NDP, including by delivering high GDP growth and reducing unemployment, it will have to address the serious power issues facing the country and the region. The regional energy conference covered the challenges. In separate discussions with Eskom, the Lord Mayor offered to provide advice on tariff models for renewable energy and our new thinking on PPPs. Eskom will visit London shortly to take this forward.

Power was the main topic of conversation with the Minister for Public Enterprises. The Minister said that, with other interested departments, she was preparing an energy master plan to determine what the country needed for the next 20 years.

Trade and Investment

With the Minister for Small Businesses, the Lord Mayor discussed UK experience in financing SMEs and handed over copies of TheCityUK booklet. In a breakfast with HSBC, she discussed trade flows between the UK and South Africa. At the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, she met major investors in the UK including SAB Miller and promoted the UK as the major location in Europe for inward investment.

Baroness Scotland discussed Airbus and Rolls Royce bids to supply the next generation of long-haul aircraft to South African Airways with Minister Brown

Baroness Scotland called on the Deputy Chief Justice at the Constitutional Court and briefed him on our plans to address issues around the transformation agenda and to encourage young lawyers from previously disadvantaged groups to pursue careers in the law.

0.4 Disclaimer

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