African Energy Chamber and Oil Industry Investors Welcome South Sudan Investment Drive in South Africa

South African and African private sector participants have an amazing opportunity to invest in South Sudans’ peace and make huge profits. This week the African Energy Chamber will join Hon. Nhial Deng Nhial, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit, Minister of Finance and Planning, South Sudan’s global investment drive is arriving in Johannesburg this week.

South Sudanese Cabinet Ministers and business leaders will meet with the African Energy Chamber and other investors at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 24th from 9am to 5pm, hereby closing a 4-city global investment drive that previously took them to Washington, New York and Dubai.

The delegation is notably made up of Agriculture and Food Security Minister Hon. Onyoti Adigo Nyikwec, Mining Minister Hon. Gabriel Thokuj Deng, South Sudan Investment Authority Secretary General Dr. Abraham Maliet Mamer, Nilepet Managing Director Dr. Chol Thon Abel, and South Sudan Petroleum Commission Chairman Amb. Ceasar Marko.

The African Energy Chamber commends Afrexim Bank for providing a $500m financing facility to fund power transmission, infrastructure and agricultural projects. We also commend President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Energy Minister the Hon. Jeff Radebe for committing 1 billion US dollars in oil and gas an infrastructure projects in South Sudan. These bankable deals should be closed quickly as it will create opportunities for both the South African and South Sudanese people.We are hopeful that the arrival of the South Sudanese delegation to South Africa will result in even more investment deals being announced

“We are hopeful that the arrival of the South Sudanese delegation to South Africa will result in even more investment deals being announced,” declared Centurion Law Group CEO and AEC Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk. “Johannesburg is the financial capital of Africa and I am bullish that we will be able to raise more money to secure and promote lasting peace and investment in South Sudan”.

The Chamber believes South Sudan’s leadership also has an obligation to creating an enabling environment of investors to put more money into the country. To achieve these great benefits, South Sudan needs to safely open up new oil blocks to exploration especially to African investors. It’s time to build refineries, pipelines, urea, ammonia, fertilizer plants, power plants, large agricultural fields and set up technology hubs. Recent discussions between The African Energy Chamber, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his cabinet agreed that Economic growth must be front and center of the peace and recovery efforts of South Sudan.

The African Energy Chamber believes that securing investments is not the problem. “Investors need an enabling environment and we are spending a lot of money to help South Sudan achieve that.  It is business that creates jobs and hope. Economic revival and business are the solution; not aid. Our leaders in government need to understand this. We cannot afford smallness in our drive for peace, Investment and stability when what South Sudan and most of Africa really need are big pragmatic common sense solutions” added Mr Ayuk.

The AEC will proudly and vigorously support South Sudan and it’s people, but we will reject narrow agendas wherever they come from and put the country first. We call upon all of African Energy Investors and corporate leaders to do the same. The Chamber will stand squarely with those who do.

As a strong partner of South Sudan’s economic revival, the African Energy Chamber encourages all partners and interested parties, especially African entrepreneurs, to attend the investment drive and seal business deals with South Sudanese public and private sector leaders who will be present at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 24, 2019.