Setting priorities for NW province economic recovery path high on agenda
North West Premier, Professor Tebogo Job Mokgoro has tasked leaders from different industries to craft and implement focused priorities that will set the province into an all-inclusive economic recovery path.
Premier Mokgoro highlighted this yesterday, 30 November 2020, at the end of his one-day engagement session with industry leaders, which was held at Sun City outside Rustenburg. The objective of this session was to look at the impact of COVID-19 on the province’s economy, and agree on a public – private partnership that will set new goals which will contribute positively to economic recovery, growth, job creation and poverty alleviation in our province.
The session which was attended by leaders from the mining sector, agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, property and town development, telecommunications, retail, creative, tourism as well as transport industries, also highlighted the comparative economic advantages of each of the province’s four districts, this in an effort to revive the provincial economy that will respond to the needs on the ground and in line with the national economic recovery plan.
Speaking during the session, Premier Mokgoro said there is a need for a social compact and commitment from each industry, which must identify priorities that can be delivered as a matter of urgency, in order for the economic recovery journey to be started and eventually realised.
“Coronavirus crisis has rippled through every layer of the social fabric, severely affecting sectors such as tourism, construction and transport. People lost jobs and their families went hungry, while many have lost their loved ones.
“We need to quantify and say what are the infrastructure challenges and what will it take to address those infrastructure gaps. So before we go into many other details we really need to identify priorities” asked Premier Mokgoro.
Another principle that we must develop, is the existing link between these key priorities and the resources, this by looking at those that are in government and those that can be made available through Public Private Partnerships. Let us stretch our imagination and creativity and do what is good for the province and its people” said Premier Mokgoro.
With the resolutions crafted from the engagement session, the province aims to engage in aggressive infrastructure investment; reindustrialization and export promotion; strengthening food security, support for tourism recovery and growth; green economy interventions and mass public employment interventions.
Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Obed Bapela who also attended the engagement session, believes that the unblocking of development projects will set the province in the recovery path that we yearn for, saying as National Champions for District Development Model deployed in the North West Province, they will be working with all stakeholders including municipalities, to ensure that the province derives much benefits from its comparative economic advantages.
As part of the day’s programme, sectors in attendance were afforded the opportunity to give an overview of their offerings and commitment towards this economic recovery path. The session was also attended by Members of the Executive Council, Mayors, Administrators and Heads of Departments in the province.
The province has commissioned a study conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and North West University (NWU), supported by Statistics South Africa, this to understand the current and long-term impact of COVID-19 on different sectors including the Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector.
Enquiries:
Vuyisile Ngesi
Spokesperson
Cell: 061 056 3623
E-mail: vngesi@nwpg.gov.za
Bonolo Mohlakoana
Media Relations
Office of the Premier
Cell: 082 901 2435
E-mail: Bmohlakoana@nwpg.gov.za
