August 30, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
MUNICIPALITIES in Gauteng will in future, align their development plans, avoid competitive behaviour, share resources and ideas on generating wealth and reducing poverty to position Gauteng as a globally competitive city region.
This was said by Gauteng Premier, Mbhazima Shilowa at the official launch of Gauteng as a city region.
The launch on Tuesday, 29 August was attended by MECs, mayors of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, and members of various political parties, who had the opportunity to voice their support and concerns about the strategy.
The idea is for municipalities in the province to work in unison, rationalising their use of resources to reduce poverty and generate wealth as the province grapples with urbanisation and migration.
Municipal leaders have come out in support of Gauteng as a global city region
The launch of Gauteng as a global city-region follows extensive consultation workshops with various civil society organisations including business, labour, academics, higher education institutions, people with disabilities and youth and students over the past two months.
The strategy, which features the province as a major metropolitan conurbation ranked in the world hierarchy of urban settlements, was influenced by the growing centrality of cities in modern economies like London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.
It was also a response to development challenges affecting the province, the ongoing divide between the first and second economies and the high levels of poverty in the province.
Addressing the gathering, Shilowa said the perspective signifies a turning point in the history of the province's development.
"This initiative to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city-region entails a new way of thinking about development in our province. It entails exciting new possibilities for advancement and will propel us onto a higher path of development as a province."
Gauteng, with its three metropolitan municipalities, is already regarded as a global city-region by virtue of its population density, its levels of economic activity and development, according to Shilowa.
He stressed that the two spheres of government in Gauteng should achieve consensus on the perspective and that business, labour, and community organisations share the same vision on social and economic development in the province.
"Our joint objective must therefore be to build Gauteng as an integrated and globally competitive region where the economic activities of different parts of the province complement each other in consolidating Gauteng as an economic hub of Africa and an internationally recognised global city-region."
Over the past 10 years, Gauteng has experienced unprecedented and sustained economic growth and a sustained decline in unemployment from 30,4 percent in 2001 to 22,8 percent in 2005. The key challenge to eradicate unemployment and high levels of poverty is the continued population and environmental pressures being experienced in the province.
With a population of 9,5 million people, Gauteng is the most populous province in South Africa according to Stats SA. On current demographic projections, urban Gauteng will be home to 14,6 million people by 2015 and will rank among the largest metropolitan settlements in the world.
Gauteng shares challenges such as rapid urbanisation, immigration, congestion and infrastructure needs with other global city-regions like Randstad, Tokyo and London, according to Shilowa. But the province is unique in the sense that spatial planning left a legacy of apartheid-established townships "as dormitory ghettos for cheap and subjugated labour, far from white areas" and former white areas with well-developed infrastructure.
Gauteng also faces a situation where three municipal districts of Sedibeng, Metsweding and West Rand are underdeveloped compared to Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.
The province is in the process of reversing the uneven development and this is being achieved through a range of programmes. Provincial and local governments are together embarking on a massive urban renewal programme in 20 townships in the province.
"This entails investment in social infrastructure as well as the creation of viable transport opportunities closer to where people live. This will take us closer to our vision of transforming our townships from the ghettos of the past into sustainable communities and dynamic suburbs and cities," explained Shilowa.
To ensure the success of the Gauteng city-region, the province is finalising the Gauteng spatial development framework which maps out current and future development patterns for the province. The spatial development perspective will also aim to ensure better urban and land use planning.
Speaking in his capacity as the chairperson of the South African Local Government Association (Salga), Ekurhuleni mayor, Duma Nkosi, said there is no "perfect" municipality in the province. He said bigger municipalities can also learn from smaller municipalities in the province, for example, in terms of governance.
"The main issue of the global city-region is about growing the economy of the province. It is not mainly about competition or annexing neighbouring provinces as some people might think."
For the Gauteng global city-region to be successful, the province has to start responding to issues of safety and security, said Nkosi. "There are so many issues raised by concerned people, issues of health, provision of adequate housing and basic services like water and electricity, education, mobility and economic resources which will have to be tackled."
After Shilowa and Nkosi's presentations, representatives of political parties in the legislature had a chance to voice their views about the Gauteng global city-region perspective. Brian Bloom of the Democratic Alliance said his party supports the perspective but there is a lot still to be done.
"The province should focus on creating jobs and combating crime. Gauteng has the highest crime rates in the world and this needs to be addressed urgently."
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supported the vision but the perspective should serve other goals besides focussing on economic growth, said party representative Judith Nkomo. "I think the challenge of in-migration should be addressed urgently," she said.
Frederick Jacobus from the Freedom Front did not think the perspective would be successful with the uncontrolled influx of people into Gauteng from other provinces and beyond.
"Gauteng is far from becoming a global city-region and it's not a safe enough place to live in," he said.
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