ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Infrastructure and related services are crucial for facilitating economic activities, creatingemployment opportunities and generating economic growth. The African continent has ahuge infrastructure gap estimated by the World Bank at US$75 billion per annum.However, the current levels of public sector resources and foreign capital inflows in Africaare insufficient to fund this infrastructure gap. Africa, therefore, needs to explore newsources of funding to finance its infrastructure backlog. It is then natural that Africa shouldencourage the private sector to invest in the infrastructure sector.According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), theworldwide funded pensions market is about US$24.6 trillion of which US$16.2 trillion isheld by pension funds (Inderst, 2009). Infrastructure investments provide importantbenefits including long-term and inflation-hedged cash revenues which are compatible with pension fund interests. Pension funds around the world have been already investing in infrastructure assets, for example in Latin America, Australia, Canada and the UnitedStates of America (US) amongst others. However, such experiences of pension fundparticipation in infrastructure financing in Africa are very rare. Anecdotal evidencesuggests that African pension funds currently manage assets of about US$300 billion. If asmall portion of the pension fund assets could be invested in infrastructure projects in Africa, the continent’s infrastructure gap could be partly addressed.The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a programme of the AfricanUnion, seeks to address the infrastructure gap and mobilise the necessary resourcesdomestically and from outside the continent. NEPAD, together with the AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB) and the regional economic communities, has developed anInfrastructure Plan for Africa. This study explores the possibility of utilising some of theAfrica pension fund assets for infrastructure investments especially in the NEPADinfrastructure projects. The global trends in pension fund investments in infrastructure arereviewed to propose a model for infrastructure investments by African pension funds andsome recommendations are put forward on how to increase such investments. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Infrastruktuur en verwante dienste is krities vir die fasilitering van ekonomiese aktiwiteite,die skep van werksgeleenthede en om ekonomiese groei te genereer. Die Afrika-kontinenthet ’n groot infrastruktuur-gaping wat deur die Wêreldbank op US$75 biljoen per jaarberaam word. Die huidige vlakke van openbare-sektor hulpbronne en buitelandsekapitaalinvloei is egter onvoldoende om hierdie infrastruktuur-gaping te befonds. Afrika moet daarom nuwe bronne vir befondsing ondersoek om sy infrastruktuur agterstand tebefonds. Dit is dan natuurlik dat Afrika die privaatsektor sal aanmoedig om in dieinfrastruktuur-sektor te belê.Volgens die Organisasie vir Ekonomiese Samewerking en Ontwikkeling (OECD), is diewêreldwye pensioenmark omtrent US$24.6 triljoen waarvan US$16.2 triljoen deurpensioenfondse gehou word (Inderst, 2009). Infrastruktuur-beleggings bied belangrikevoordele insluitend langtermyn- en inflasie-verskanste kontantinkomstes wat versoenbaaris met pensioenfonds belange. Pensioenfondse regoor die wêreld het alreeds begin om ininfrastruktuurbates te belê, byvoorbeeld in Latyns-Amerika, Australië, Kanada en in dieVerenigde State van Amerika. Sulke gevalle van pensioenfonds deelname aaninfrastruktuur-finansiering in Afrika is egter seldsaam. Daar word gespekuleer dat Afrika sepensioenfondse tans bates bestuur van ongeveer US$300 biljoen. As ’n klein gedeelte vandie pensioenfondsbates in infrastruktuur-projekte in Afrika belê kon word, sou die kontinentse infrastruktuur-gaping gedeeltelik aangespreek word.Die nuwe vennootskap vir Afrika se ontwikkeling (New Partnership for Africa’sDevelopment, NEPAD), ‘n program van die Afrika Unie, streef daarna om die infrastruktuurgaping aan te spreek en die nodige hulpbronne binnelands en van buite die kontinent temobiliseer. NEPAD, tesame met die Afrika Ontwikkelingsbank (AfDB) en die streek seekonomiese gemeenskappe, het ’n infrastruktuur-plan vir Afrika ontwikkel. Hierdie studieondersoek die moontlikheid om ’n gedeelte van Afrika se pensioenfondsbates virinfrastruktuur-beleggings aan te wend, veral in die NEPAD infrastruktuur-projekte. Diewêreldwye neigings in pensioenfondsbeleggings in infrastruktuur word ondersoek om ’nmodel voor te stel vir infrastruktuur-beleggings deur Afrika pensioenfondse en ’n paar aanbevelings word gemaak om sodanige beleggings te verhoog.
