Ian Palmer and Stephen Berrisford will share an overview of the key findings of the DFID land based financing project, focussing on land value capture and infrastructure finance in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Overview:
The rapid growth of African Cities brings with it a burgeoning demand for infrastructure. But the finance available to cities to build this infrastructure is constrained. Therefore opportunities offered by land-based financing are most important. A team based at the African Centre for Cities has recently completed a significant research project on this topic for the UK Department for International Development. The findings from this research will provide the primary input for this brownbag session, which will deal with the nature of urban infrastructure, the institutions involved in providing infrastructure, an overview of capital financing options and specific opportunities for using land-based finance. It will also touch on the role of property developers in providing and/or financing infrastructure, the role of cities in raising finance associated with property developments and associated policy considerations. Findings from case studies conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe will also be reflected in the presentation.
Bios:
Stephen Berrisford is an independent consultant working in the field of urban planning law and policy in Southern Africa. He holds BA LLB and MCRP degrees from UCT and an MPhil in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge. Prior to establishing Stephen Berrisford Consulting in 2000 he held the post of Director: Land Development Facilitation at the national Department of Land Affairs and before that worked in the planning departments of the Cape Town and Johannesburg municipalities. During 2010 he was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Sheffield. His clients include the major international development agencies as well as all three spheres of government in South Africa. Stephen’s work focuses on the identification of practical and just legal solutions to the challenges of rapid urban growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has regularly published academic articles and book chapters since 1996 and has presented papers at a wide range of international conferences.
Ian Palmer is a founding partner of Palmer Development Group (PDG). PDG is a leading consultancy in South Africa in the field of municipal services policy, research, strategy and management. He has 37 years experience in the fields of civil engineering and development. Over the last 25 years, 19 of which he has been the managing partner and then managing director of PDG, he has been the team leader on over 100 projects in the realm of public sector service delivery including the fields of: municipal services planning, municipal finance, inter-governmental relations, water and sanitation, housing, roads and public transport. He has degrees in civil engineering, economics and environmental engineering. Ian is also an Adjunct Professor at UCT attached to the African Centre for Cities.