The Gauteng Provincial Government is to present its economic recovery plan at a summit to be held on Thursday at the Birchwood Hotel, Ekurhuleni.
In his brief to the media in the city on Monday, just days ahead of the Gauteng Economic Recovery Summit, MEC for Economic Development Firoz Cachalia said job creation remains a priority and will be central to all projects undertaken by the government.
“One of the key purposes of this summit is to engage role-players such as business, labour, civil society and all spheres of government with the aim of agreeing on strategic interventions to create employment and conditions for accelerated growth and development in Gauteng.
“Taking into account the principles that underpin the framework for South Africa’s response to the economic crisis, the summit will further seek to develop a short term intervention in the form of a response to the economic crisis framework. The immediate needs of all stakeholders will be considered as well as Gauteng’s specific economic nuances,” read a statement presented to the media at the briefing.
Cachalia said for its part, Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) had already introduced cost-cutting measures and that departments were encouraged to spend money on core functions such as service delivery.
Topics that are expected to dominate proceedings at the summit include Small, Medium Micro-Economic (SMME) support, job creation and retention, the role of local government and support to distressed economic sectors among others.
Issued by: Department of Economic Development, Gauteng Provincial Government
9 November 2009
Source: Department of Economic Development, Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.ecodev.gpg.gov.za)
