Lesufi believes next year’s LIV golf event at Steyn City will also inject much needed finances into SA, as will the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
It really is good to hear Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi say early projections show Gauteng saw around a R1 billion financial injection in just more than a weekend of hosting the G20 summit.
That number could even swell to R3 billion, if initial numbers are to be believed.
According to the premier, most hotels in the province were fully booked, restaurants were popular, tourist attractions caught the eye of the international delegates and malls saw plenty of foot traffic.
But it wouldn’t be South Africa if there wasn’t a dodgier side to the G20.
Lesufi yesterday said police had to intervene when two Brazilian pilots failed to honour a “transaction” with two women at 4am and, then, had to negotiate a reduced fee.
The Vietnamese delegation was also pick-pocketed at the Checkers in Sandton City and there was an attempt to rob a police car on a Johannesburg highway with the assailant using a toy gun.
ALSO READ: Billions, early morning ‘transactions’, and robbing the police: Inside Joburg’s crazy G20 weekend
We suppose it would be funny if it wasn’t true.
Back to the money… Lesufi believes next year’s LIV golf event at Steyn City will also inject much needed finances into the country, as will the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
Lesufi said: “We can confirm almost all our hotels were booked, the airlines to our province were fully booked and our malls were busy with visitors, including our tourist destinations in Soweto, Magalies, and Sandton in particular – where [the] majority of our visitors enjoyed themselves.
“This positive exposure is priceless, especially considering that data shows that G20 countries account for more than 78% of the global economy and 58% of our international visitors.”
It was good to see a cleaner, more efficient city and a police and traffic control presence for a change.
But we have to ask you, Premier Lesufi: should it not be like this all the time? Should ratepayers not also get some bang for their bucks?
NOW READ: Gauteng makes around R1 billion in one weekend, thanks to the G20
