‘So the cynic would say that these investment conferences are nice for good vibes but if you really want to increase investment, start with some service delivery.’
All eyes are set on the South Africa Investment Conference taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre on Tuesday, 31 March 2026.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, said the country is ready to host the sixth edition of the investment conference.
“South Africa is open, South Africa is ready, and South Africa is an investment destination of choice,” Tau said.
The annual conference, established in 2018 brings together government, investors, and business leaders to promote investment opportunities in the country.
For most of these conferences, the government speaks of ‘commitments’ and ‘pledges’, hardly how much was actually invested.
Pledges worth R1.56 trillion
During the media briefing outlining the country’s readiness to host the annual conference, Tau said SA has secured R1.56 trillion in investment pledges.
“The first five-year investment drive, which ran from 2018 to 2023, was an unqualified success by any measure. South Africa secured R1.56 trillion in investment pledges, surpassing the Presidency’s original target by 26%.
“That achievement was not by accident, it was the product of deliberate partnerships, disciplined engagement, and a government that chose to be open for business,” Tau said.
However, are pledges promises? Promises from people that they will invest that money? And are there consequences if these pledges are not fulfilled?
Promises of money for SA Investment conference
Professor Waldo Krugell, an economist at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU), told The Citizen that in the case of the conference, pledges are promises.
However, there are two parts to the issue.
“The first is about the success of the investment conference in itself,” he said.
“Does it actually crowd in new investment that wouldn’t have taken place anyway? Many commentators have this view that businesses pledge or promise investments there that they probably would have undertaken anyway.
“It’s a nice opportunity to showcase the initiative, to get some PR value, to spend some time with the top politicians. In that sense, it’s not a new investment, but sure it’s investment.”
Tracking progress
Krugell added that the second part of the issue is the difficulty in tracking how much actually happened.
“It’s difficult to track, and you do see an actual tracking of big capital projects in the NedBank Capital Projects Monitor, but it doesn’t link it back to ‘this thing was also promised at whatever investment conference’,” he said.
“So we have to trust the government’s promises and investments, and there’s no easy way to independently verify whether the promised monies were in fact invested.”
No way to force the promise to be kept
Coming to whether the government can force the people who have made pledges to actually deliver, Krugell said there is no way.
“There’s also no real mechanism for forcing these firms to keep to their commitments,” he said.
“They could simply say six months down the line or a year down the line that they’ve re-evaluated and the project is not profitable anymore and, based on that, they’re going to pursue something else.
“This is all private sector plans that are announced there, and you can’t keep them to it. So the cynic would say that these investment conferences are nice for good vibes, but if you really want to increase investment, start with some service delivery”
Job creation
Tau said the South Africa Investment Conference was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 with the mandate to mobilise both domestic and foreign investment at scale and to translate that investment into jobs, growth, and opportunity for the nation’s people.
He added that to date, more than R600 billion of commitments made have flowed into projects, supporting the establishment of new factories, mines, and other productive facilities across the country.
“The 2026 conference aims to reinforce a clear narrative to investors: credible reforms drive investor confidence, unlock deployable opportunities, and foster sustainable global partnerships.”