Premier announces big plans to reignite township economy
The Gauteng Provincial Government has adopted 10 pillars of the National Development Plan to show it is committed to investing in township infrastructure and to demonstrate it is serious about the radical transformation of the economy, which will manifest in the development of the small entrepreneurs.
This was said by Gauteng Premier David Makhura in his address to thousands of small entrepreneurs and businesspeople at the Gauteng Township Economy Revitalisation Summit at Orlando Stadium in Soweto earlier today.
The summit, which Premier Makhura described as the first of its kind in South Africa to showcase the importance of townships, was attended by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, MECs, mayors, members of the provincial legislature, councillors and prominent businessmen.
Premier Makhura said his government had committed itself to working with all municipalities in the province to ensure that entrepreneurs and other businesspeople fully benefit from the local economy.
The City of Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development Councillor Ruby Mathang said he was happy with the close cooperation between the Gauteng Government and the City in developing the economy.
MMC Mathang said both parties had jointly visited townships across the province to address the concerns raised by entrepreneurs.
The MMC said both the City and the Gauteng Provincial Government had found a lot of common ground during the roadshows held in the province. This, he said, boded well for the revitalisation of the economy.
Premier Makhura said 80% of Gauteng people lived in townships, designed by the apartheid government to supply cheap labour.
The Premier highlighted that the Gauteng Provincial Government was determined to revitalise and mainstream township economy by supporting the development of township enterprises, cooperatives and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that produced goods and services meeting the needs of township residents.
Premier Makhura said radical intervention would also focus on the reindustrialisation of the Gauteng economy through strategic infrastructure development.
He said his government had visited more than 65 townships and addressed no fewer than 60 000 entrepreneurs in roadshows.
“We have listened to our people who have reservation about the proliferation of big malls in the townships, government red tape, drastic actions by metro police and a lack of support for cooperatives.
“We are a government that listens. We are a government that cares. We are here to revitalise the economy. This is not a talk shop; we mean business. We want to challenge big businesses to come and support the township economy,” he said.
The Premier said R160-million would be invested in building township infrastructure. He appealed to municipalities to stop penalising entrepreneurs but help them to developing.
Deputy President Ramphosa described the Gauteng Township Economy Revitalisation Programme as a great innovation that would boost the Gauteng economy.
He said Gauteng had good leadership that had a great foresight and interest of the people at heart.