WATER
The African Union has highlighted water as a key driver of industrialisation and job creation. Which sectors in South Africa stand to gain most if water security improves? The African Union is correct to frame water as economic infrastructure rather than a social service alone. In South Africa, improved water security is increasingly differentiating bankable projects from unbankable ones.
In the agriculture and agro-processing, investment in onfarm reuse, storage, and efficiency show more reliable earnings and stronger export performance. For investors, water-secure producers carry lower climate and regulatory risk premiums.
In mining and energy, mining houses that have transitioned to closed-loop or high-reuse water systems have materially