由詹妮弗·扎巴萨贾（Jennifer Zabasajja）和洛妮·普林斯卢（Loni Prinsloo）报道：这家总部位于南非、资产管理规模达2400亿美元的全球性金融机构将提供资金支持基础设施建设项目，以扭转约翰内斯堡（非洲大陆的金融中心）日益恶化的状况。
A $240 billion global asset-management firm with South African origins will financially back infrastructure projects to reverse the decay of Johannesburg, the continent’s financial capital.
“这座国家的重要城市亟需进行彻底的改革，”Ninety One Plc公司的首席执行官亨德里克·杜托伊特（Hendrik du Toit）在接受彭博电视（Bloomberg Television）采访时表示，“这座城市的治理状况糟糕至极。”他的公司计划提供帮助，不仅是为了约翰内斯堡本身，也是为了整个地区的经济发展。
“The major city in the country needs to be turned around,” Ninety One Plc Chief Executive Officer Hendrik du Toit said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “It has been appallingly managed” and his firm is “making plans to help — not just us, but within our ecosystem.”
非洲最大的经济体将于11月4日举行市政选举，以决定哪些政党将负责管理约翰内斯堡等地区。由于多年的政治动荡和管理不善，约翰内斯堡目前拖欠服务提供商数亿美元，并且无法提供稳定的公共服务。
Africa’s largest economy will hold municipal elections on Nov. 4 to determine which parties will run areas like Johannesburg, where years of political instability and mismanagement have left it owing hundreds of millions of dollars to service providers and unable to provide consistent services.
目前，这座城市由非洲国民大会（ANC）领导的联盟政府管理；但民调显示，资深反对党政治家海伦·齐勒（Helen Zille）是最有竞争力的市长候选人。根据News 24/SABI Strategy Group于10月4日发布的调查结果，36%的选民支持齐勒，而支持ANC候选人的选民比例为27%——这一比例尚未达到让她能够单独执政的50%门槛。
A coalition led by the African National Congress, the biggest political party, currently runs the city, but polls identify veteran opposition politician Helen Zille as the front-runner to become the next mayor. While a News 24/SABI Strategy Group survey published on Oct. 4 showed her being favored by 36% of voters — ahead of the 27% backing an ANC candidate — that’s under the 50% threshold that would allow her to govern outright.
“如果这座城市不能得到改善，留住优秀的管理人才将变得非常困难，因为人们不愿意生活在供水中断、道路状况极差的地方，”杜托伊特说。“我认为这座城市有望在相对较短的时间内实现好转，尽管这需要付出巨大的努力。”
“If that city doesn’t turn around, the retention of executive talent would be an issue because people don’t want to live in places where the water is just cut off and where the roads have too many potholes,” Du Toit said. “I think it could be turned around relatively quickly, although it’ll be a huge job.”
在塞雷尔·拉马福萨（Cyril Ramaphosa）总统的前任雅各布·祖马（Jacob Zuma）执政期间，腐败和管理不善的问题一直困扰着非洲经济，导致该国经济增长率连续十多年徘徊在1%以下。杜托伊特指出，企业因此不愿投资，纷纷在资产负债表上囤积现金；不过他同时也看到了企业支出开始复苏的迹象。
A legacy of corruption and mismanagement under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s predecessor, Jacob Zuma, still dogs an economy that’s expanded less than 1% annually for more than a decade. Companies have consequently been reluctant to invest and are “hoarding cash on their balance sheets,” according to Du Toit, who sees signs that corporate spending is starting to recover.
央行最新发布的季度报告显示，在截至6月的三个月里，私营部门的固定资产投资出现下滑，不过企业银行存款额却有所增长。
The central bank’s most recent Quarterly Bulletin showed private-sector fixed investment fell in the three months through June,even as corporate bank deposits grew.
诸如推动私营部门大力发展可再生能源，以及引入企业合作伙伴对德班港的2号码头进行现代化改造等举措——该码头是撒哈拉以南非洲地区最大的集装箱枢纽——均可作为范例，为如何吸引“全球顶尖力量”参与其他基础设施建设提供借鉴。
Initiatives such as a private-sector boom in renewable energy and having a corporate partner modernize Pier 2 — the sub-Saharan African region’s biggest container gateway — at the port of Durban can serve as models for ways to involve “the best in the world” in other infrastructure.
“投资资金终将追随实际成效而来，”杜托伊特说道。“只要能以合理价格实施项目，就有大量资金可供投入。我们会优先动用国内资金，待成功案例显现后，再引入国际资本。”杜托伊特曾于1991年参与创办Investec的资产管理部门，该部门后来发展为Ninety One。2020年，这家银行将Ninety One剥离，使其成为一家独立上市企业。
“The investment dollars will start following the results,” Du Toit said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to deploy money, as long as we can do it at the right price, and we are going to move domestic dollars first, and then bring in international dollars once the proof points are there.”Du Toit helped found Investec’s asset-management unit in 1991. The business eventually became Ninety One, which thelender spun off in 2020 and became an independently listed company.