Gauteng’s newly launched CFO Roundtable seeks to boost growth through transparency

Gauteng Treasury has launched the CFO Roundtable partnership to promote transparent financial governance and boost economic growth.

The private-sector-led initiative is geared towards fostering strong relations between government and CFOs, with the latter sharing unparalleled insights into financial risk and strategy to enable the Gauteng economy to thrive, while improving investor-confidence in the province.

The CFO Roundtable is a collaborative project between Gauteng’s Provincial Treasury, Chartered Institute of Business Accountants (Ciba), Standard Bank and the Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit and Risk Officers (Cigfaro).

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Plea to private sector

During his welcome address, City of Joburg Member of the Mayoral Committee Cllr Dada Morero said the City had recently experienced many challenges.

“Buildings have caught fire, more are still going to catch fire, unless the City intervenes,” he said, adding that the time was ripe to rethink the future of the inner city.

Morero said the City had been trying to plead with private businesses not to relocate, amid Joburg CBD’s recent infrastructural challenges.

“We’ll continue to appeal to the private sector not to move from the CBD,” he said.

Morero also said the City faced financial challenges, which he attributed to the inability of citizens to “afford rates” in their respective municipalities.

Hoping the CFO Roundtable would yield good results, Morero said: “We hope this dialogue won’t be [just] a talk show.”

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‘Heartbeat of economic growth’

Standard Bank Group’s Chief Economist Goolan Ballim said there was a need for reciprocity between private and public partnerships.

He also emphasised the importance of having strong public institutions for economic growth.

“Growth is undergirded by strong public institutions,” Ballim said.

“Robust public institutions deliver higher income per capita, economic growth and lower growth volatility,” he added.

Gauteng’s economy is twice as large as Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial economies combined, said the economist,adding however that SA’s economic hub had not grown significantly over recent years, resting on its historic mining legacy.

“Perhaps Gauteng just looks amplified because it started from a higher base,” Ballim said.

The economist also emphasised the need to reduce uncertainty and increase confidence to boost economic growth – adding that three pillars were essential.

“Human capital, physical capital and innovation are the heartbeat of economic growth,” Ballim said.

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Transparency’s key

The Citizen asked the panel how the CFO Roundtable would assist in addressing concerns of corruption, with specific reference to prospective fund allocation towards repairing damage from the 19 July Joburg CBD explosion.

“I’d encourage the provincial government and Joburg Metro to include chambers in that project steering committee,” replied Cheryl Reddy, President of the Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit and Risk Officers (CIGFARO).

“[To ensure] there’s a transparent process of how the money will be spent,” she explained.

Reddy said a tender could still be advertised despite the urgency of the situation, however with a “reduced” timeline.

Emphasising on transparency regarding the tender process, Reddy proposed holding public hearings, “opening of the bids” taken to the adjudication committee – “so everyone is involved in who gets appointed,” she told The Citizen.  

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Image matters

Speaking on investor confidence, Ciba CEO and CFO Roundtable convener Nicolaas van Wyk said driving a positive narrative and painting a positive image was essential.

“We can increase GDP by how we present ourselves [to investors],” van Wyk told The Citizen.

“Confidence drives investment,” van Wyk concluded.

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