THE eThekwini Economic Council (EEC) has committed itself to hit the ground running to revitalise the economy of the city which has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This emerged at the inaugural meeting of the EEC held on Thursday, 15 October, chaired by Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda. The council was launched last month with the purpose of providing expert and cross-sectoral advice to city leadership on economic development, investment promotion and ensuring that there is an enabling environment for business to grow within the city.
The first sitting of the council outlined the scope of the EEC to formulate strategies and design an inclusive programme of action as a collective to ensure a new growth trajectory for eThekwini and ultimately eradicate the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The council is expected to prioritise radical socio-economic transformation interventions and provide guidance in the implementation thereof, ensuring that there is a coherent and seamless execution of these interventions.
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EEC members were briefed on the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on the local economy and the proactive response that the City has taken to ensure that it safeguards jobs, support enterprises and protect livelihoods through its Economic Recovery Plan.
Kaunda expressed the City’s commitment to the EEC of a conducive environment to do business and ensure improved access to basic services such as water, electricity and refuse removal which is critical to attract investment in the city.
“We remain unwavering in our posture to eradicate all forms of crime including corruption. We are encouraged by the work done by our law enforcement agencies in dealing with this scourge and the Municipality is working around the clock to reduce the case backlog of internal investigations,” he added.
The Mayor also briefed the EEC on the soon to be established Mayoral Jobs Creation and Skills Revolution War Room which will work together through social compacts such as the EEC to rebuild the economy. The War Room will focus on among other things, implementation of decisions emanating from this council within specified time frames.
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The work of the EEC will be driven through working groups, chaired by a respective sector member and supported by city officials and the council secretariat. Non-sector members of the Council will be allocated a working group as per their preference.
Seven areas have been identified for the EEC to focus on to drive socio-economic recovery, including the high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth, low technical skills base, the intermediary status of the economic sectors dominated by black businesses such as the performing arts sector, revival of the tourism sector, the monopolistic nature of the economy, the low manufacturing capacity base and the unreliable energy supply.
The working groups are to convene and outline a way forward for their respective sectors and give feedback at the next EEC meeting on 3 December.
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