Custodians of City’s economic fortunes hold roundtable discussion

 For those banging at the door there is a desperate need for action from those holding the keys to prosperity.

Members of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development heard the concerns of business forums and private business owners about the state of the local economy. The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) hosted a roundtable discussion for stakeholders in the Phelindaba Chamber of the Region C offices on Christiaan de Wet Road on April, 6.

MMC for Economic Development, Nkululeko Mbundu, stated that he did not want these types of discussions to be simple talk shops, but starting points to formulate tangible actions with outcomes that can be monitored. The straight-talking MMC said there was no time for politicking and that together the multi-party government would strive to put the interests of the people of Johannesburg at the forefront.

“A City in ICU”
These were the words MMC Mbundu used to describe the state of the City, adding “… some may even say in a coma”. He highlighted that municipal entities were rife with corruption and that maladministration and officials with a lack of work ethic were hampering the development and success of the City. Continuing his use of medical care as an analogy, he said, “Our solutions require a specialist set of surgeons”.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Chief Economist, Lullu Krugel, gave a presentation on the economic challenges facing the City. Capital flight, an alarming amount of business liquidations, and an unemployment rate far outstripping job creation were chief concerns. Krugel demonstrated how the city has regressed to the point where Johannesburg now has the same amount of jobs it had in 2012.

Sharing her stance, she said, “It’s not about government creating jobs, but government creating the environment for business to create jobs”.

Gauteng is South Africa’s economic heartbeat with Johannesburg being both the focal point of economic activity and the corridor through which all economic activity flows. MMC Mbundu believed that for South Africa to maintain economic growth at close to 5%, Gauteng would need to maintain its own growth at 7%, something that can only be done by having officials who have the interests of the city at heart.

Elaborating on the City’s ‘seven priorities’
The mantra of the CoJ multi-party administration is their seven priorities, with the foundation being ‘a city that gets the basics right’. For MMC Mbundu, this means having basic services such as consistent energy supply, functioning traffic signals, and an efficient public transport system, all functions that will need collaboration with other portfolios.

“This is about having the infrastructure that ensures the economy flows,” he said.

Of the seven priorities that would fall under the Economic Development portfolio’s jurisdiction, ‘a business-friendly city’, ‘a well-run city’ and ‘a smart city’ would be key. Streamlining the functions of the City in a way that makes operating a business in Johannesburg less cumbersome relates to the first, while getting basic administrative functions within the City working efficiently spoke to the second.

Identifying the ‘smart city’ phrase as a cliché, MMC Mbundu laid out his vision for a City that would have real-time connection and tracking of service delivery, administrative services and opportunities. This he stressed would be done by establishing a high-performance culture and mindset within the departments that play a significant role in the lives of those who live in Johannesburg.

Addressing challenges within the Johannesburg Property Company
The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) is the custodian of all government-owned land and assets, and MMC Mbundu identified this entity as “… by far the worst-performing entity in the City”. The MMC is stressing the need for an asset audit, as preliminary numbers suggest that at least 29 000 underutilised assets are currently under JPC control, with an underevaluated worth of roughly R30 billion.

These public assets play a huge role in the upliftment of communities, with business owners and community leaders present elaborating on how lack of access to these assets hampered their progress. Investment and sponsorships come with set time and location parameters, and a need for a functional JPC is a non-negotiable for growth. New key performance indicators have been set for JPC and a request from the entity to extend their turnaround time on applications from four months to nine months was negotiated to seven months.

The way forward
The presence of illegal immigrants was a burning topic among the stakeholders in attendance and MMC Mbundu called for stronger enforcement of existing laws. The process of rehabilitating hijacked and abandoned buildings started by former mayor Herman Mashaba was a programme he wished to see prioritised so that those buildings could be repurposed as multi-use developments.

MMC Mbundu reiterated the need to set politics aside and for the City to reestablish it’s connection with the business community by taking a pragmatic approach.

“Where we stand as a multiparty government, we are open for business. We want to make the City of Johannesburg open for business, and the only way we can do that is to bring business together with the public sector,” said the MMC.

He noted how roughly 115 000 people had left the city taking with them capital and skills, a trend that needed to be reversed with urgency. The economic forecast may not be appealing and while the Economic Development hot seat was an important cog in the machine, it will take the efficient turning of every gear to rescue Johannesburg from the slump. He may not be able to do it alone but MMC Mbundu’s appreciation for Johannesburg was evident when he said, “Here there is a soul that you can’t find anywhere else”.