If your business does not have a base and footprint in Gauteng within the next five years, it will miss out \u201cbig time\u201d, according to Gauteng premier David Makhura, who presented his vision for the province to an investment and savings conference in Sandton on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Speaking to leaders of companies such as Sanlam, MMI, Alexander Forbes and Old Mutual, Makhura explained how his government was working successfully with the private sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have found that the private sector is looking for leadership,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce they have a sense that you know where you are going and they realise it\u2019s good for the country, they invest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past 12 months, we have worked very closely with business,\u201d Makhura told Fin24 after his speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I have the passion to get the private sector to understand that government is not an enemy.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment is interested in working with them and energising them to bring their resources into the space,\u201d he said. \u201cI have found that there is appetite [and] there is interest amongst [the] private sector \u2026 to work with government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Makhura outlined the five corridors of Gauteng, explaining that each one would get infrastructure development to create unique skills specialisation. They are:<\/p>\n
Ahead of his speech, Makhura had attended the sod turning of the Vaal River City Development in Sedibeng (worth between R7bn and R 11bn). \u201cIt will bring a much needed boost to the economy of the region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Makhura said that talking was good, but that he wanted to see action. The Inaugural Gauteng Infrastructure Conference from 17 to 18 June at the Sandton Convention Centre would bring business and government together to act on the plans, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to market our province [at the conference] as a \u2026 preferred destination for FDI (foreign direct investment) globally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to bring \u2026 specific infrastructure projects [to the conference] that we want to showcase and get private sector investors to put in money in that to help us build this province along a line of a vision of a globally competitive city region that is a gateway to Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Infrastructure Conference is going to be exciting, we will have lots of businesses from Africa, as well, because \u2026 we are open for business.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfrica is rising [and] we want to participate in Africa\u2019s industrialisation, but we also want African countries and business people to understand that if you do business anywhere else and you don\u2019t do business in South Africa \u2026 you still have a long way to go in Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoliday in Cape Town, but come work in Johannesburg,\u201d he told the delegates, some of whom were based in the Mother City. \u201cIf you are not based in Joburg in the next five years, you will miss out big time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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