Lebogang Maile, the MEC for finance for Gauteng, has presented a plan for economic recovery, and the province will hold its inaugural Gauteng Investment Conference in April.
During his Gauteng budget speech at the province’s legislature on Tuesday, Maile disclosed that the initiative’s goal is to secure R800-billion in investment commitments over the next three to five years.
This is in line with the R300-billion goal for the fiscal year 2025-2026.
With an emphasis on economic growth areas like innovation, industrialisation, sustainability, green energy, ICT, infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing, and township economies, Maile clarified that the conference will be a crucial forum for interacting with investors from the public and private sectors.
“The event will also be an important platform to engage with private and public sector investors on policy measures to bolster energy security, revive industrial competitiveness, and leverage private sector investment to fast-track economic recovery and growth in Gauteng,” said Maile.
Additionally, he emphasised the importance of fixed investment in economic growth and the fact that investing in long-term assets like infrastructure, technology, and machinery would increase production capacity and efficiency, which would in turn spur the creation of jobs.
According to him, recent years have seen difficulties for the province’s investment trends.
Gauteng’s metropolitan municipalities have played a major role in driving gross fixed capital formation.
Drop in fixed investment
Known as the historical leader in fixed investment, the City of Johannesburg saw a drop from R100.6-billion in 2016 to R75.6-billion in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It recovered in 2023 to R83.99-billion.
According to Maile, the City of Tshwane experienced a similar decline, dropping from R64.8-billion in 2016 to R48.5-billion in 2020 before recovering more slowly to R53.78-billion in 2023.
Ekurhuleni experienced a steady decline from R63.3-billion in 2016 to R45.6-billion in 2021, with a slight recovery to R50.6-billion in 2023.
“The analysis of these trends indicates structural pressures, including contractions in manufacturing, construction, and public infrastructure spending, alongside growth in agriculture and mining.
“These trends underscore fiscal limitations, while modest sectoral gains signal opportunities for targeted interventions.
“We therefore take this opportunity to invite decisionmakers in the public and private sectors to join us at the Gauteng Investment Conference to chart a path of recovery and growth for the Gauteng economy,” said Maile.
