South African loan and aid package lingering

South African loan and aid package lingering



CUBA STANDARD — The foreign relations committee of South Africa's

parliament urged the government to implement a three-year old 350

million South African Rand (US$41 million) aid and loan package for

Cuba, one year after it was ratified.



The aid agreement was signed during a Havana visit in 2010 by President

Jacob Zuma and ratified by the South African parliament in September 2012.



An official with the Department of International Relations and

Cooperation told the committee that his institution "intended seeing

through" the package, according to a press release by the parliament.



The economic assistance package consists of a 40 million Rand ($5

million) grant for the purchase of seeds by Cuba, a 100 million Rand

($14 million) solidarity grant, and a 210 million Rand ($24 million)

credit line in two tranches from South Africa's Export Credit Insurance

Corporation, to provide risk cover to potential South African exporters

to Cuba.



Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and a business delegation of 18

South African companies visited Cuba last fall, to meet with officials

and visit the International Havana Fair. The delegation represented

capital equipment, electro-technical, mining, agro-processing,

engineering, and metals industries.



Davies said at the time that Cuba would like to borrow $11.5 million to

have the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos (INRH) buy raw

material from a South African manufacturer used for the production of

water pipes in Cuba. Once Cuba pays back this first tranche of the

credit line, South Africa will grant it the second tranche, Davies said.



As part of the 2010 agreement, the South African government agreed to

cancel $159 million worth of defaulted debt, and offered Cuban state

companies to participate in the country's $100 billion infrastructure

construction program.



South African mining companies have expressed interest in Cuban nickel

and other minerals in the past, but no major investments have

materialized. More recently, a South African group of investors has

financed hotel construction in Cuba.



Meanwhile, Cuba has provided health services, as well as personnel and

logistics for workforce housing construction and construction of

facilities in the run-up of the 2010 soccer World Cup. Also, South

Africa is funding some of the healthcare programs Cuba is providing to

third nations in Africa. In May, South Africa agreed to pay for 208

Cuban doctors to be deployed in South Africa. In addition, Cuban experts

will provide support in implementing South Africa's National Health

Insurance, help overhaul the healthcare system by refocusing on primary

healthcare and streamlining administration, improve human resources

management, and help South Africa with research and development,

particularly in biotechnology.



Source: "South African loan and aid package lingering « Cuba Standard,

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http://www.cubastandard.com/2013/08/16/south-african-loan-and-aid-package-lingering/