‘Upset’ Mbundu welcomes the new township economic bill
MMC accuses MEC Tau of dictatorship
The launch of the Soweto Investment Conference 2022 was marred by drama after Joburg MMC for economic development Nkuli Mbundu left as MEC for economic development, agriculture, environment and rural development Parks Tau spoke about the Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill.
Giving a keynote address at the conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, Tau said the bill had been passed and would boost the economy in the township. “The act directs that all municipalities in the province shall pass bylaws that advance the objectives of the township economic act,” Tau said.
It was at this stage that Mbundu stepped outside, visibly upset because he said he could not sit and be dictated to.
According to Mbundu, there had been zero communication between the province and the city regarding the township economic development bill.
He said he was hearing details for the first time at the conference and felt as though he was not being included in what the city should do.
“We have not been contacted by the province. We are still waiting to hear what it [the bill] means and what the responsibilities of the city are. When programmes fail, the city will be blamed.
“Province is not the big brother of the City Johannesburg, the City of Johannesburg is a government on its own. So, I can’t be handed something and told that I shall implement. This is politics at play,” adding that as a government of the people, they are willing to support provincial and national government but they feel ignored and dictated to.
Mbundu said he could not be OK with being told that the municipality should adopt the bill or be part of a programme that he had no say in.
“Not once has the office of the MMC for economic development in the City of Johannesburg been consulted. So, how am I supposed to take ownership, and support and promote it?”
He said that he has nothing against the MEC but he was against the politics at play.
“I have nothing against Parks Tau, in fact, I like him as a person... but seven years later, look around. So, I could not sit there and listen to the tone and the message and be OK with it. I could not be OK,” Mbundu said.
They say they are willing to support Soweto Investment Conference because it is in the DNA of what they stand for.
“This event really talks to the heart of what our mandate is as a city. We are there to provide enabling environments for businesses to thrive, and to grow vertically. I think it’s important to have such engagement, and not just talk shops but to have tangible programmes to give confidence to the business community.
“People are tired, people have lost faith in the government and it’s important that we reignite confidence.”
Tau further told dignitaries: “This investment conference takes place as our country is rebuilding in a context of the accumulative 2020 Covid-19, the 2021 July civil unrest and the 2022 natural floods which have disrupted industrial supply chains.
“For us in the Gauteng city region, this opportunity to do things differently is now enabled by passing into law the Township Economy Development Act (Teda), which will re-engineer the economic geography of townships and informal settlements [and is] a game changer that will address the apartheid legacy left on Gauteng’s townships and open up new procurement and market opportunities for township-based businesses,” he said.
Tau said Teda will bring opportunities to people through benefits like funding procurement, better bylaws and tax rates – that will be set up to benefit people who live in Gauteng’s townships.
Held in partnership with the City of Johannesburg and Soweto Tourism Association, the two-day conference aims to facilitate investment opportunities for Soweto business people and to close the gap between the provincial and local governments that has caused barriers in the economic development of townships.
Tau’s spokesperson Loyiso Jaantjies said: “Councillors were also extensively petitioned via the SA Local Government Association, while the city was represented at the public hearings held by the legislature.”
He added that the city was also directly petitioned for written comment via the city manager’s office when the bill was developed, “and they supplied extensive inputs”.