BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITY
ON THE HORIZON
Although adverse economic conditions have stifled growth in southern Africa, there are signs of
recovery, writes Leon Louw.
T
This, of course, has a lot to do with
the adverse political climate, the
demise of Zimbabwe’s, Zambia’s and
Namibia’s economies, and South Africa’s
destructive political battles. South Africa
is the region’s largest economy, and
without the engine room firing on all
cylinders, it will struggle to regain its
verve. But despite negative predictions,
the country is gradually recovering from
the disastrous Zuma years, and might
just surprise a few doomsayers.
Calvin Fennell, business development
manager for Wirtgen SA, and chairman of
CONMESA is under no illusions about the
reduced demand in southern Africa for
new capital equipment. “The total market
has dropped significantly over the past few
years, but the last few months has seen
substantially worse than we experienced
lately, especially after the short uptick at the
end of 2017 and beginning of 2018,” he says.
Not only has South Africa experienced
a short-lived miniature boom, but interest
he acquisition of capital
equipment in southern Africa
has been severely affected by
sluggish economic growth and
the lack of big-ticket infrastructure build.
The southern African region, for so long
the pacemaker in Africa, has experienced a
dreadful four or five years, and compared
to the rest of the continent, suddenly lags
behind in terms of the number of new
construction and infrastructure contracts
being awarded.
Roads in southern Africa are in serious need
of rehabilitation and upgrades.
28
OCTOBER 2019
www.equipmentandhire.co.za