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At least R3.4 billion worth of goods and services were procured from township enterprises by the Gauteng Provincial Government and its many municipalities, residents heard during #Sopa2016.
During the State of the Province Address (Sopa), Premier David Makhura boasted this fact as one of the province’s major achievements in terms of growing the township economy. He promised ‘Team Gauteng’, comprising of MECs, executive mayors and himself, will “continue to spend more time on the ground solving problems with communities, unblocking delivery of infrastructure projects and getting the economy to work for all”.
Here are 10 other facts Makhura mentioned during his speech:
• The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) spent R1.8 billion on its Township Economy Revitalisation Programme last year.
• Gauteng’s municipalities procured R1.6 billion worth of goods and services from township enterprises in 2016.
• Between 2014 and 2015, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) spent R1.1 billion on its Jozi@Work programme to empower small businesses.
• As of January 2016, 1 805 people are benifitting from GPG’s procurement spend, which is four times what it spent in 2015.
• As of January 2016, 5 321 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have been registered on GPG’s procurement database.
• On the West Rand alone, 577 township enterprises are being supported by GPG.
• Gauteng is to date maintaining its position as the economic powerhouse of South Africa, contributing 35 per cent to the SA economy in 2015.
• According to Ernst & Young’s 2016 Africa Attractiveness Survey, R30 billion worth of foreign direct investment projects went into the Gauteng economy between 2014 and 2015.
• According to the September 2015 Quarterly Labour Force survey, 191 000 jobs were added to the formal Gauteng economy, while 150 000 new jobs were created in the informal sector in 2015.
• Since 2014, the GPG has created 220 642 job opportunities through the Extended Public Works Programme.
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