Veronica Mohapeloa
13 September 2006
South Africa and France have signed a partnership agreement setting out joint development projects worth R3.1-billion.
Deputy Finance Minister Jabulani Moleketi signed a Framework Charter for Partnership with his French counterpart, Brigitte Girardin, in Paris on Monday.
Moleketi is the country following Girardin's visit to South Africa in April, when the partnership was first discussed.
Nuclear power station repairs
At the time, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma thanked France for helping South Africa deal with problems at the Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape.
This followed a series of power blackouts in Cape Town and in other parts of the province caused mainly by a damaged electricity generator at Koeberg.
Replacement parts acquired from Electricite de France included a rotor and stator bars to replace damaged ones.
'Strategic
partner'
The Framework Charter Partnership sets out development projects for the next four years in the fields of service delivery, support for small business, job creation and energy efficiency.
"We see South Africa as a strategic partner, both willing and able to contribute to African development and the resolution of crises on the continent," Girardin said at Monday's signing.
France's development relations with South Africa date back to 1994.
Through the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the French government, in partnership with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, has supported projects worth more than R3.2-billion over the past five years in affordable housing, basic utilities, support for the productive sector, and capacity building.
In August, AFD signed a €40-million (R360-million) agreement with the City of Johannesburg to finance the improvement of Soweto's water supply, and an agreement worth €6-million (R54-million) with Durban to use methane emissions from rubbish dumps to generate electricity.
Source: BuaNews
