Infrastructure and energy are two important areas for African countries to achieve sustainable development, as well as are among the priorities in the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the continent’s ambitious development blueprint. In February, Lerato Mataboge was elected as the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy. She is a global policy and trade and investment facilitation expert and was the deputy director general in the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition when she was elected.

Before she moved to Addis Ababa to assume her new role, ChinAfrica interviewed her about infrastructure and energy development in Africa and cooperation with China. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.

Priorities after taking office

Regarding infrastructure construction and energy development, there are three areas we should focus on.

One is the revitalisation of Africa’s industrial renaissance, and within that, there will be a focus on strategic projects and the mobilisation of finance. The second area is the transformation of Africa. African financing is critical in achieving this. The third area is building a capable African Union. It is important to make sure that the organisation is left in a better place.

It is important to revitalise the industrialisation of the continent, transform the African economy, and have Africans participate in their own development.

To address Africa’s most pressing challenge of the chronic infrastructure deficit, the private sector’s participation is very important. Statistics show that Africa will need about $340 billion by 2040 just to bridge the infrastructure gap. Right now, Africa has managed to raise about $82 billion. There’s still a big funding gap remaining.

It cannot be bridged only by governments. Africa needs partnerships, and that’s where the private sector becomes critical, including the private sector from other countries like China.

On the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) focuses on enhancing infrastructure connectivity in the world. Many African countries participate in this initiative. The African Union will further strengthen cooperation with China in building and upgrading the continent’s infrastructure.

The infrastructure deficit in Africa makes it important to maintain and strengthen partnerships all over the world, and the partnership with China is critical.

China will remain strategic to Africa. We need to review our relationship to see, in delivering this infrastructure agenda, what we can learn, and what we can do better. But certainly, we’ll maintain that relationship with China.

Currently, there some Chinese companies are engaged in infrastructure development in South Africa, building roads, expressways, and bridges under the BRI.

We always welcome contributions to infrastructure development, but, as I say, each project has its own merits. I think one thing that I would want to look at once in my new role is how we should monitor and evaluate the different projects with the partners for improvement so that we can improve and do things better.

On new energy development

China is in a leading position in renewable energy development, such as solar and wind power generation, photovoltaic panel production, and turbine production.

China can play an important role in a partnership with Africa as it can contribute to harnessing Africa’s own potential. Africa has abundant solar, wind, and hydro resources. The missing link is the technology needed to harness that natural endowment.

China’s contribution to investment in research and development has been quite critical, and the world, particularly Africa, can benefit from that research and development.

China has advanced capability and technology in solar power generation, and that can help African countries to solve some of their energy problems because a lot of African countries have rural areas where distances between communities are vast. So, large grids won’t necessarily work. In this context, they need to have agile off-grid solutions, and that is where partners like China, who have dealt with such problems, can be of help.

Strengthening connectivity in Africa

As for challenges in infrastructure construction in Africa, we still consume what we do not produce and produce what we do not consume.

The current problem that Africa faces is the fact that we still have a colonial model of infrastructure planning. From the colonial days, infrastructure was planned in a way that it moved from the nearest resource base, whether it was an agricultural resource or a mineral resource, outward to the nearest port. Even today, if you do an aerial map of Africa, you will find very little infrastructure that connects African countries with each other.

That has had an impact on the levels of intra-African trade. African countries trade very little with each other because they don’t have the connecting infrastructure, and that infrastructure gap among African countries should definitely be bridged.

So, the next priority will be improving interconnectivity among African countries. We need to build rail, road, and even maritime transport that connects the continent internally so that we can do intra-African trade and consume African products as much as possible, while of course still maintaining trade relations with the rest of the world.

The BRI can help to improve this situation, as it follows the principle of “extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.” Under the BRI, both sides sit down and talk about each other’s demands before a project goes into implementation. Those principles resonate with Africa, which is in line with African countries’ interests.

Pull Quote

My ultimate goal is for Africa to be a credible global rule maker, not a perpetual global rule taker. I want to contribute meaningfully to an Africa that is diversified, digitised and decarbonised to meet the intrinsic needs of the African child; and through the intrinsic talents of the African child.

—- Lerato Mataboge, African Union commissioner for infrastructure and energy