‘Bay, Coega must grow together’

If the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is to grow the city’s stagnant economy by 2025 it must improve its relationship with the Coega special economic zone.

The apparent frosty relationship between the two is causing the city to lag behind in reaching its full investment potential.

This is according to a draft economic growth strategy report for the Bay, drawn up by Nelson Mandela University’s Dr Deon Pretorius and Professor Ronney Ncwadi.

“Coega is starting to flourish while the metro is floundering,” the report states.

A four-month probe by Pretorius and Ncwadi uncovered that none of the key institutions in the metro – the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber, Coega IDZ, NMU and the Mandela Bay Development Agency – were operating to their optimum in relation to the economic development and growth of the city.

On Friday, Pretorius declined to comment on the document, saying it was subject to changes.

He said more meetings to discuss changes with the municipality were scheduled to take place in the next week.

The 158-page draft report is set to be tabled at the economic development, tourism and agriculture portfolio committee for discussion on Friday.

It suggests that the metro’s economy is hampered by, among other things:

● A lack of a clear economic vision;

● Apartheid segregation which remains entrenched;

● The city’s lack of an economic identity;

● The leadership struggling to perform its function in enabling economic development growth; and

● The political instability in the city that is creating economic uncertainty.

“The seeming lack of a close relationship with the metro is a serious concern in view of the vast investment to date and expectations created over the years that Coega would bring prosperity to the metro,” the report says.

It suggests that the municipality ought to be taking advantage of Coega’s successes.

“The fact that Coega appears to be successful in conceptualising and implementing world-class, state of the art industrial solutions while the city’s production and manufacturing sectors are in decline, is indicative that the lessons being learnt at Coega are not being carried out across the metro as a whole.”

According to the report, at the time of its establishment in the early 90s, Coega was meant to be the definitive solution to the metro’s economic woes.

“Now when Coega is at last starting to turn investment into lasting value, its relationship or link to the metro seems more distant and disconnected than ever; it is an unfortunate irony.”

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) said it was concerned about the report’s assertions of a frosty relationship between it and the municipality as there had been “progressive work” between them.

The corporation said none of the entities or institutions were interviewed and that some of the findings were based on opinions.

“Ordinarily, once a report is compiled, the parties mentioned in [it] must be afforded an opportunity to respond to the preliminary findings.

“In this regard, none of the participants were favoured with such an opportunity.”

The CDC said there were formal interactions between it and the metro, which include monthly and bi-monthly forum meetings to discuss catalytic projects, energy projects, spatial planning, water, human settlements, emergency services and research.

It has also had a number of meetings with mayor Athol Trollip and members of the mayoral committee.

“Our relationship with the NMB municipality continues to be healthy and is thus demonstrated by various structures, interactions, and projects at which both institutions are involved, from both executive and operational levels,” it said.

“The assertion that the CDC needs to be integrated into the city, from the CDC’s perspective is unsubstantiated.”

The report suggests that the business chamber and auto unions convene an automotive dialogue with the automotive industry to get a better understanding of the challenges in the “rapidly changing” sector.

It also suggests the city needs to leverage agricultural ties with the Sarah Baartman region, saying it is perplexing that it is “not embracing the obvious relationship with the surrounding region”.

Pretorius and Ncwadi wrote that Nelson Mandela Bay contributes 36% to the Eastern Cape’s GDP.

“The Sarah Baartman region which surrounds Nelson Mandela Bay generated 10% of the provinces’s GDP with only 7% of the Eastern Cape’s people. It is somewhat puzzling that the metro’s defined in isolation of the region that surrounds it.”

‘Our relationship with the NMB municipality continues to be healthy’ COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION