Makhura spells out plans for Gauteng
The Gauteng provincial government will have to be more “aggressive and decisive” in pushing its vision to turn the entire province into a single special economic zone, premier David Makhura said on Monday.
The Gauteng provincial government will have to be more “aggressive and decisive” in pushing its vision to turn the entire province into a single special economic zone, premier David Makhura said on Monday.
The province is expected to be a crucial battleground in the general election in May after the ANC’s dismal performance in the 2018 municipal elections in which it lost the key metros of Tshwane and Joburg and narrowly retained the Ekurhuleni metro courtesy of an alliance with smaller political parties.
With Gauteng being the country’s economic hub, investment and economic growth and job creation are expected to take centre stage in the election.
Delivering his last state of the province address before the general election, Makhura said: “Our dream is to grow Gauteng step by step into a single special economic zone. As a city region, we are already a compact and highly integrated single economy,” he said.
Special economic zones are a central pillar of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s stimulus package. These special economic zones are designed to attract investors by incentives, including reduced corporate tax rates and state-ofthe-art infrastructure.
Makhura said the province would complete and officially open the OR Tambo Industrial Development Zone in 2019. Other special economic zones would follow in Tshwane, Sedibeng and West Rand as part of the province’s reindustrialisation agenda.
Makhura said that, according to the latest data from FDI Intelligence, Gauteng had attracted R199bn in foreign direct investment in five years, and this has created 30,000 jobs.
“The scale and impact of what we are doing with our industry leaders in the priority sectors of our provincial economy is incomparable. But we need greater co-ordination and collaboration within the Gauteng city region, if we are to maximise the impact,” Makhura said.
All social partners, especially labour, had to be brought on board. He said R40bn in investments would be announced in Gauteng’s various corridors later this year.
Another sensitive topic expected to dominate the election is e-tolls. Makhura said the user-pay principle was not in question, but there was a clear recognition that urban tolling increased the cost of living and was therefore unsustainable.
“Proceeding from this consensus, 22 government teams are hard at work to find a solution to the e-tolls,” Makhura said. President Cyril Ramaphosa had reassured him that the resolution of e-tolls was one of the issues receiving his attention.