Interesting article re South Africa. This sort of investment can only assist companies like UNV yet the SP continues to falter..
South African President Outlines $51 Billion Infrastructure Plan
By Patrick McGroarty
JOHANNESBURG--South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday detailed plans to jumpstart the continent's biggest economy through sweeping infrastructure spending, admonishing his critics to "stop talking our country and economy down."
Mr. Zuma said the government would spend $51 billion over the next three years to upgrade roads, ports and utility access and to open unexploited deposits of coal and other minerals.
A longer list of critical infrastructure projects would take 15 years and some $462 billion to complete and would need significant private investment, he said.
A wave of strikes at mines, manufacturers and trucking companies have hobbled South Africa's economy in the past two months and startled international investors. The central bank expects the economy to grow just 2.6% this year, far too low to dent an official unemployment rate of nearly 25%.
South Africa's currency, the rand, has been hammered by the labor turmoil, weakening some 5% against the U.S. dollar since August, while Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services have both cut the country's debt rating in the past month.
Federal and private spending on infrastructure is one of the best ways to improve South Africa's fortunes, Mr. Zuma said.
"As a job creator, the infrastructure program is a clear win," the president said. He said it would employ tens of thousands of people and encourage companies to expand and invest in the country. "No one can imagine a successful producer who lacks access to transport, telecoms, water or electricity."
Mr. Zuma also used his speech to a crowd of business leaders and government officials to admonish media, economists and opposition politicians who have criticized his handling of the labor turmoil and his broader economic management since taking office since 2009.
"We urge those who have access to the media...including opposition politicians to stop talking our country and economy down," Mr. Zuma said. "No country should be made to withstand such negativity and total disregard of progress made."
