Lending for African infrastructure projects on the decline, prompting queries about who will rescue SA

A new report by the law firm Baker McKenzie shows that lending to Africa’s infrastructure projects has declined to less than a third of what it was in 2014. Photo: Getty Images

As South Africa looks to embark on a mega-infrastructure drive to get the economy out of its Covid-19-induced doldrum, the picture of infrastructure funding in the continent may raise questions on how far the government will go in mobilising the R2.3 trillion it needs.

In June last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa had identified 276 infrastructure projects. A month later, the government estimated that 62 of them could take off within three months. But to proceed, they need funding. 

Now the latest Baker McKenzie report on Africa’s infrastructure funding shows that multilateral and bilateral lending into Africa declined to less than a third of what it was in 2014.