Gauteng Treasury spearheads economic growth initiative with CFO roundtable

In a bid to grow the Gauteng economy, the Gauteng Treasury continues with engagements in its newly launched Chief Financial Officer (CFO) roundtable to unlock public and private sector resources to increase the province’s economic output to R2 trillion.

The Gauteng Treasury yesterday in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Business Accountants, Standard Bank and the Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit and Risk Officers held a Gauteng CFO pledge to work together to prioritise specific initiatives which will drive economic growth.

Build relationships

According to Gauteng finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, it was important to have conversations on how to build partnerships.

“As the Gauteng Treasury, we are essentially the CFOs of the Gauteng government,” he said.

“That is why we are excited about this initiative because it will enable us to work with our counterparts in what is really a pioneering effort to bridge the gap between government vision and corporate action.

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“Through this initiative, we are shifting the narrative from viewing economic growth and development as solely a governmental responsibility to understanding it as a collaborative endeavour between government, the corporate sector and other stakeholders for the net benefit of all citizens in the province.

“An operating environment with certainty, less risks and a simplified regulatory outlook is important for investment attraction.

“That is why we continue to engage with the corporate sector even through this initiative to seek ways in which we can create an attractive environment for investors to put money and resources in our province and bring about the economic growth and development that we all endeavour to achieve.”

R500bn investment over 3 years

The province last month announced it was investing over the next three years almost R500 billion.

“We know a higher GDP indicates a more robust economy, with more jobs, higher income levels and more consumer spending.

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“The big question is what actions we must take as government and the private sector to achieve this target of R2 trillion,” he said.

“We are mindful of private sector investment in our region.

“However, there are bottlenecks impeding private sector investment in impactful infrastructure necessary to drive the regional economy.

“Some of the bottlenecks range from red tape to availability of bulk services necessary for infrastructure development in some nodal areas requiring investment to ignite economic activities in such areas.

“Hence the focus of this roundtable is to galvanise jointly to optimise our efforts towards rejuvenating economic activity in the Gauteng city region.”

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Tshwane and Joburg maladministration and incompetence

Recently, the Local Governance Performance Index report released by Good Governance Africa painted a bleak picture of the top Gauteng municipalities.

The report isolated Tshwane and Joburg and cited maladministration and incompetence.

The report further stated Joburg and Tshwane performed in a “manner that belies their major city status, with the two metros struggling particularly in administration and governance, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and leadership and management”.

The SA Local Government Association’s municipal infrastructure finance specialist James Matsie added that the municipal challenges posed a significant problem as many businesses were not able to operate in such environments.