Business wants to help City of Joburg, but after the elections

The private sector is keen to play a greater part in arresting the decline of the City of Johannesburg and working directly with the leadership of SA’s biggest metro and economic hub, but partnership on this front will most likely only get going post the local government election.

That’s the word from Adrian Gore, co-convenor of the Government-Business Partnership, who is also chair of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and group CEO of JSE-listed medical aid and financial services giant Discovery Limited.

Gore spoke to Moneyweb following the launch of Phase 3 of the Government Business Partnership in Sandton on Thursday, which included President Cyril Ramaphosa, several key ministers, and over 100 leading CEOs and business leaders.

The initiative is backed by Business for South Africa (B4SA) and several other business bodies.

Business ‘vexed’ about City of Joburg

“We, as big business, are vexed about the state of City of Joburg. But it can and must be saved, because it is SA’s economic hub and biggest city, representing around 16% of the country’s economy,” he said.

“Businesses and ratepayers are levied, but are not getting the service delivery we pay for …

“The CEOs that are part of the Government Business Partnership have shown what can be achieved when government and the private sector work together to deal with major issues holding our economy back,” he added.

Willing to help City of Joburg after elections

Gore said the more than 120 CEOs who are backing the partnership have expertise that has been put to good use at national level, collaborating with government around key reforms needed to jumpstart the SA economy.

“Business leaders are willing to share their expertise and time to help turn around the City of Joburg. Included in Phase 3 of the Government Business Partnership is a commitment from business to get more involved in CoJ, but with a credible counterparty in the city,” he stressed.

Asked about the potential impact of the upcoming local government elections on this plan, Gore conceded: “The City of Joburg can only be dealt with [as an issue for business] post the elections …

“The best time to try to intervene and assist as business will be post the elections, once there is more certainty around the city’s leadership and we have a counterparty that we can work with.”

Business already investing

He said that while the Government Business Partnership hopes to secure a working relationship with the city, business is already playing a key role beyond just investing in Johannesburg.

Gore cited private sector-backed initiatives such as Discovery’s Pothole Patrol, and OUTsurance’s traffic pointsmen programme, as well as city improvement precincts such as the Sandton Central Management District.

BLSA and B4SA have put forward three top CEOs to work with City of Joburg, post the elections.

They include Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn, Estienne de Klerk, group CEO of Growthpoint Properties, and Itumeleng Mothibeli, who is managing director of Vukile Property Fund in SA and current president of the South African Property Owners Association.

Speaking to Moneyweb, De Klerk reiterated Gore’s sentiments that work with the City of Joburg would start post the local government elections.

Early days

“It is still very early stages in these discussions … With the elections in November, we are only likely to get going with this proposed partnership between organised business and the city in the new year. We hope that the city comes to the party and works with business as a key stakeholder,” said De Klerk.

The launch of Phase 3 of the Government Business Partnership is “encouraging and the progress since Phase 1, has been phenomenal,” said Vukile’s Mothibeli.

“Growth and employment are now the core focus pillars as we move forward. With challenges aplenty in the City of Joburg, business is willing to respond with a collaborative, innovative and mutually beneficial lens to help improve the living conditions of our joint ultimate stakeholder – the people of Johannesburg,” he added.

Work done by Government Business Partnership

Gore said Phase 1 of the Government Business Partnership, launched in 2023 at national level was about “steadying the ship”, with a focus on fixing Eskom and the energy sector, as well as transport and logistics, and crime and corruption.

That task is not yet complete. Phase 2 focused on reforming key sectors.

“Phase 3 is now focused on four distinct sectors to drive economic growth,” he said. These sectors include infrastructure, mining, tourism and agriculture.

“The country has considerable potential. But it’s kind of latent, we’ve got to drive it up and drive jobs and growth. So we see agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, and mining – when you do the analysis, the potential is massive… We’ve got to unblock things, push hard and get these sectors to really grow to their potential,” added Gore.

Tourism Business Council of SA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa welcomed the tourism sector being seen by government and the broader private sector as a key driver of growth and job creation in the country.

“We have been working on this and calling for the tourism sector to be taken more seriously for over decade now, and are glad that we are finally being heard and recognised. Tourism is a huge growth lever for SA and needs to be leveraged,” he said.

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.