Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, who is on a state visit to South Africa, has said that ‘good conditions’ must be in place before German companies will invest in this country.
South Africa is Germany’s biggest trading partner in Africa with the value of trade reaching R235 billion annually – although this is skewed in Germany’s favour.
Issues such as energy restraints due to failures at Eskom and economically damaging policies such as Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC) have shaken investor confidence in South Africa.
Merkel also expressed Germany’s support for South Africa in resolving the energy crunch and was quoted as saying: ‘We would like to support you to extend and expand renewables. We also discussed using renewables in a sustainable way … and the replacement of old power plants.’
Apart from co-operation around energy, there was also discussion around education and skills development, and the strengthening of economic ties.