Tshwane to reduce inequality and promote economic growth, says mayor

29 May 2014 - 14:47 By PHETANE RAPETSWANE
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Tshwane Executive Mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. File photo.
Tshwane Executive Mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. File photo.
Image: SABC

Tshwane Executive Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa shared his vision of improving Tshwane to reduce inequality and promote economic growth in the capital city.

During a business breakfast which aimed to further unpack the budget he presented on Monday, Ramokgopa said the majority of the R4.1 billion capital expenditure aspect of the budget would go towards spending in townships and areas that remain underdeveloped because the legacy of apartheid.

“The budget we presented on Monday brings to fruition policy choices made by the incumbent party (The ANC) which was heavily influenced by the ideology and policies of the incumbent” he said.

The mayor said by 2055 Gauteng needed to be a global city region to keep up with the rest of the world. He alluded to a McKinsey report, which said the 423 emerging market cities of  City600 will generate more than 45% of global growth.

“In Gauteng, we are talking about the concept of being a global city region. Gauteng can onlycompete globally if we don’t see ourselves as Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni. If we see ourselves as a single city region, we will have a region that is complete and has economies of scale, with Tshwane focusing on having community services (Governments and large global governance institutions), Joburg concentrating on financial services, and Ekurhuleni acting as the biggest workshop (manufacturing in the country)”

“If we do this we can compete with mega cities like Beijing, Shangai and Tokyo by achieving economies of scale and I’m confident the newly elected administration in the province is thinking in this direction” he said

In an attempt to woo the private sector into investing in the City of Tshwane, the mayor said the city would be granting rates bursaries to businesses that invest in the capital.

“We are currently finalizing the policy documents for the rates bursaries, and they should be done by the end of June. We can say for certain that the inner city will be first and foremost in our plans to award rates bursaries for property developers and businesses”

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