Sudan : Peace still possible in Sudan - Nkoana-Mashabane

By Chris Bathembu

Pretoria - South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane believes the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 in Sudan could still be realised.

She was speaking at a conference, organised by the United States government on Tuesday, where different countries debated on how to forge ahead with the task of supporting the peace process in the Sudan.

The minister said the conference should be used to identify key obstacles that block the implementation of the CPA while also urging the international community to come up with effective mechanisms for resolving the challenges facing the Sudanese.

"We think the people of Sudan have waited for too long for peace," said Minister Nkoana-Mashabane.

Sudan has been engulfed in civil conflict for almost all of its 48 years of independence. The conflict between the north and the south, erupted in 1955, has severely damaged that country's progress while scores of people have lost their lives in the decades long civil war.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has been instrumental in forging peace in that country and according to the CPA document; the north and south were urged to maintain separate armed forces.

After 21 years of war the issue was no longer whether transformation was necessary but rather how to ensure mutual obligation by all stakeholders.

"The people of Sudan have been waiting for four years to see peace through the democratic transformation of government at all levels," said the minister.

Progress on the key outstanding issues required a sound relationship between Sudanese main political players, the National Congress Party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

The relationship should be based on trust, mutual respect and cooperation.

"We urge the parties to do more to build trust and mutual respect through dialogue. The people of Sudan cannot continue to be deprived of the peace dividend promised by the CPA," she said.

The minister further said South Africa remained committed to supporting the peace process in the Sudan.

"We will continue to play our part in the post-conflict reconstruction and development of the Sudan with special emphasis on the southern Sudan and other war affected areas," added Minister Nkoana-Mashabane. - BuaNews

State-owned enterprises can help counteract economic downturn

Cape Town - State-owned enterprises (SOE) must roll out their infrastructure investment programmes to counteract the effects of the economic downturn, says Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan.

"This will help to counteract the economic downturn by accelerating jobs and investment," said the minister.

Delivering her Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Hogan explained that infrastructural investment programmes can be used to systematically develop the manufacturers that supply these enterprises with the components necessary for infrastructure roll-out.

"This leverage is optimised when there is long-term infrastructural planning, combined with a high level of standardisation of requirements and the building of strategic relationships with national suppliers," she said.

The minister said this would give the industry a firm basis to invest, and allow it to achieve economies of scale and high levels of efficiency as a result of the learning curve.

The department established the Competitive Supplier Development Programme (CSDP) in 2007 to drive the supplier development process into the heart of the investment programmes.

However, in order to achieve these objectives, sophisticated procurement capabilities are required. It is critical that we build our capacity to coordinate a range of government incentives with the procurement process to ensure investment in advanced manufacturing capabilities.

"We believe effective procurement leverage can result in sustained job creation and, ultimately, in exports," said Ms Hogan.

She said the current regulatory system had been established during a period of minimal investment, and had not been adequately revised. "The consequence is that tariffs, particularly in electricity, are not designed to provide enterprises with the cash flows to fund an aggressive build programme."

Given the scale of the investment programmes, she said, it was unlikely that the fiscus would be able to fund the costs of the capital build. "This is a major threat to the investment programmes and needs to be given considerable focus."

She further said it was imperative that an environment is created where the private sector can participate in the system alongside SOEs, rather than as an alternative to them.

A further problem with the low tariff regime is that it hinders the ability to introduce private operators and funding into the system, as the returns offered to these players will not be sufficient to justify the investment.

These investors do not only bring much needed financial capital, but can also introduce a competitive dynamic to the system that will increase efficiencies, and in certain instances will give consumers greater choice, she said.

The minister further said it was also critical that funding models for enterprises be finalised as soon as possible.

"Many of our SOEs are unable to adequately generate their funding requirements from their own operations and are reliant on borrowings that are often guaranteed by the state. It is absolutely clear that additional sources of funding must be sought."

She said the fiscus is not in a position to provide the scale of funding required for all SOEs. - BuaNews