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Est 2009 Issue 19 - 2015
14 - 21 May 2015
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City opens up to global trade ‘Joburg would continue to work towards establishing a strong foothold within SADC and BRICS as a matter of national priority, and emphasises the importance of such continued trade within the region’ Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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n Monday the City of Joburg’s Economic Development cluster hosted delegates from other BRICS and SADC countries, and from Italy and the United States, in the first of briefing sessions on the city’s future economic outlook and potential. Economic Development MMC Ruby Mathang, Executive Director of Economic Development Ravi Naidoo and Chairman of the Section 79 Committee on Economic Development Willie van der Schyff represented Joburg. The aim was to position Joburg as a major player in international trade, in a bid to further grow its economy and provide a better quality of life, MMC Mathang said. He added that the City would continue to work towards establishing a strong foothold within SADC and BRICS as a matter
of national priority, and emphasised the importance of such continued trade within the region. “For the first time ever, the largest shipments of fresh produce to the Johannesburg Fresh Food Market are now coming from Maputo in Mozambique,” he pointed out. The MMC also thanked the Russian Federation for its interest in partnering with local companies. Van der Schyff said Joburg had as far back as 1886 been identified as the potential ‘economic Gibraltar’ of the African continent. Naidoo acknowledged the importance of growing strong economic ties with cities in other parts of the world. “Joburg is in the process of finalising a number of city-to-city agreements it wants to focus on over the next two years. The City of Joburg has already seen a number of investments materialise, following its previous engagements with the
Economic Development MMC Ruby Mathang during the briefing on the city’s economic future.
international community. The City is now looking at ways to capitalise on these investments, particularly in spaces such as information and communications technology, green technology, pharmaceuticals and the financial sector.” Joburg will host a major trade mission from the United States in September, and will look at ways to sup-
port this endeavour for the benefit of both South Africa and the US, Naidoo added. “The City of Joburg also wants to engage international partners that would like to invest in the city on ways to fast-track zoning applications and access to land for economic purposes. The aim of such engagements would be to take international
agreements out of the ceremonial space and make them very much practical,” he said. Naidoo added that the City of Joburg would focus on how well these agreements translated into actual wealth and job creation; and how successfully these initiatives linked Joburg-based businesses with their international counterparts.