Gauteng Business 2016 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
reasons why the provincial government
aims to partner with the
corporate sector, township enterprises
and local government to
promote investment in the township
economy and the development
of township enterprises and
cooperatives. The Cooperatives
Banks Development Agency will
work with the GPG to facilitate
the establishment of cooperative
banks that are owned by communities
(including burial societies
and stokvels) as part of promoting
financial inclusion and broadening
access to credit by township
enterprises and communities.
According to the Premier, the
GPG currently spends at least 5%
of its R10-billion procurement
budget for goods and services
that are provided by township
enterprises.
“We have now committed to set
aside 30% of public procurement
budget for township enterprises
over the next five years,” he said.
Seven new
township hubs
The key role that township hubs
play in transferring skills and creating
employment in the townships
has also been recognised.
Seven new township hubs will
be established in Ennerdale,
Hammanskraal, Mabopane and
Reiger Park. Additionally, Industrial
Parks in Katlehong, Orlando,
Residentia, Khutsong and
Ennerdale will be revitalised, while
there will also be a strengthening
of the three existing township
economic hubs in Mohlakeng,
Winterveld and Diepsloot.
In another development, a R1.6-billion investment has been made
in Diepsloot, from which about 160 township entrepreneurs who
are involved in light manufacturing and other productive activities
will benefit. Called the Riversands/Diepsloot SMME Incubation Hub,
with state-of-art facilities, this is an exciting and far-reaching initiative.
Township hubs allow entrepreneurs to concentrate on managing
their business without being perturbed by having to plan and build infrastructure
for their operations. Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department
of Economic Development will embark on a comprehensive education
and awareness campaign to empower townships businesses and
entrepreneurs in terms of business formalisation and registration. The
campaign is titled Qondisa Ishishini Lakho, and it aims to build confidence
in township-based enterprises in addition to registering in the
region of 10 000 Small, Medium and Macro Enterprises (SMMEs) across
the five regions of the province to create a conducive environment for
entrepreneurs and also to transform Gauteng townships from being
reservoirs of cheap labour to being the pulse of the economy, where
every rand generated from the township economy circulates within
the township in order to benefit township residents.
Revitalisation of the township economy
Gauteng Premier David Makhura believes firmly that the province
is committed to placing the township economy at the centre of its
programme for radical economic transformation.
“Townships can no longer be mere sites for the reproduction of
cheap labour and for trading of goods and services that township
communities do not produce,” he said. He added that in the interactions
his government had with townships residents through the 2015
Provincial Township Economy Revitalisation Summit that they had
“agreed on the key steps needed to radically transform our townships
from their historic role as reservoirs of cheap labour into centres for
productive and light manufacturing activity. Our consultations have
produced a strategy through which we will create an enabling and
supportive environment for existing and future township enterprises
to grow and flourish”.
Makhura also confirmed that the township economy is now firmly
part of the government’s national economic policy.
During his State of the Nation Address (and subsequent response to
the debate on the Address), President Zuma indicated that “economic
transformation to unlock growth also means improving the support
provided to small enterprises especially township and rural enterprises
which will promote economic activities at local level”.
The Provincial Government has already committed more than
R160-million to the township economy. In the 2015/16 financial year
it allocated more than R300-million to support township enterprises
and cooperatives and, at the same time, municipalities have made
37 GAUTENG BUSINESS 2016