Our core mandate as the Department of Economic Development is to lead the Gauteng Provincial Government’s efforts to inclusively grow the economy of the province and create decent jobs.
Gauteng remains South Africa’s biggest economy and largest contributor in terms of job creation. When compared with other provinces, Gauteng province recorded the biggest decrease in unemployment rate.
In the second quarter of 2012 Gauteng’s unemployment rate stood at 25.4 percent, but we are now at 23.7 percent. This is a noticeable downward move. That said, unemployment remains one of the biggest challenges facing our province’s economy.
The Census 2011 results underline the imperative for collective effort by government, business, labour and civil society to inclusively grow the economy of the province and to expand economic opportunities available to Gauteng citizens. The Gauteng Department of Economic Development has made significant inroads in discharging its mandate.
Small business support for inclusive economic growth
The department is committed to multiplying efforts to grow and support small businesses and cooperatives. We believe that this is vital for overcoming the challenges presented by unemployment, a growing population and rising demand for services in Gauteng.
As part of this commitment, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), an agency of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, has exceeded its targets in terms of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) and cooperative support.
During this financial year, GEP has provided tailor-made support and training to 231 SMMEs and 391 cooperatives. Through these interventions, the department has contributed to the sustenance of 761 jobs in our economy.
GEP also provided financial support to nearly 60 small businesses in construction, wholesale and retail, agriculture, ICT, automotive and manufacturing sectors. A total of 110 businesses owned by people with disabilities also received funding from GEP. The financial assistance provided to these businesses led to the creation of 402 job opportunities. This financial assistance is a lifeline to small businesses in Gauteng, especially given the hurdles that small businesses encounter in accessing funding from private financial institutions.
We are also powering ahead with our plans to help the informal businesses. In this regard, we will be supporting informal traders with training, and we will scale up our engagements with this sector. These engagements will culminate into an Informal Traders Summit in the first quarter of the new financial year.
Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship
We remain steadfast in our commitment to the development of youth entrepreneurs in the province. We consider youth empowerment extremely important, especially in light of the Census 2011 results, which showed that the majority of Gauteng’s citizens are young people. The department has remodelled the Youth and Graduate Entrepreneurship Development Programme (Y-Age), which was essentially aimed at recruiting and training young entrepreneurs as well as funding new ventures in the economy. The programme is now administered directly by one of the department's entities – the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP). This decision was taken in order to maximize the programme’s reach and enhance its impact.
An innovative and knowledge-based economy
The department has also been hard at work to address the graduate unemployment challenge. To this effect, The Innovation Hub (TIH) has signed a funding agreement with the Jobs Fund for the expansion of the Coachlab programme which is aimed at fast tracking the development of world-class resources for the local high-tech sector by preparing ICT post-graduates to enter the job market place as active and industry-ready knowledge workers. The expansion of the Coachlab programme, will broaden access to 100 unemployed graduates and an additional 50 unemployed matriculants.
The Innovation Hub is an integral part of our strategy to build an innovative and knowledge based economy in Gauteng. The department’s Gauteng Innovation Competition has been instrumental in identifying high potential innovations and facilitating their entry into the market place.
We are delighted to announce that a company called Mobility, which was a finalist in the Gauteng Innovation Competition and also received seed funding and development support through mLab, recently signed a contract with Metrorail for the rolling out of its web based train schedule for commuters.
Township Enterprise Hubs
We are fast-tracking the completion of the Winterveldt Township Enterprise Hub. The Winterveldt Hub will have a special focus on automotive related businesses such as tyre fitment, panel beating, body parts and repairing. The construction of the Hub began on Friday 8 March 2013.
In addition to the measures taken by the Gauteng Provincial Government against non-performance, the department has also adopted stern action against the slow delivery of projects. To this effect, we have allocated the task for the construction of the Winterveldt Hub to one of our entities in the automotive sector– the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC).
A task team has been appointed to review the performance of the Youth Project Management Office. The message we want to communicate is that non-performance will not go unpunished. Government officials must always adhere to the timely delivery of projects.
Tourism
Tourism sector is one of the key drivers of economic growth and job creation in the province, and as such the Department continues to pay a special focus on ways to stimulate the sector. One of the areas we are focussing on in this sector is skills development. In this regard, we plan to finalise the transfer of the Ga-Rankuwa Hotel School from North West to Gauteng. This will give us yet another platform to develop and expand skills in the hospitality sector.
We will also host a Gauteng-wide shopping festival during the course of the new financial year. This speaks to another innovative idea to promote destination Gauteng.
Trade and Investment Promotion
In pursuit of the objective to promote investment and job opportunities in our province, the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) will soon launch the Gauteng Investment Centre (GIC).
The GIC will be run in partnership with municipalities, the departments of trade and industry, environmental affairs as well as the South African Revenue Services (SARS). This initiative will ensure that Gauteng province offers a seamless, hassle-free, and time efficient business experience for investors.
Liquor Regulations
Regulation of liquor trade in the province is of pivotal importance to department and the province. In light of this, we initiated a month long public consultation process on the Draft Liquor Regulations (2013). We received a total of 122 submissions from retailers, hotels, restaurants and community organisations. During this process, members of the public raised stern objections to certain aspects of the regulations, particularly the proposal to prohibit the sale of liquor on Sundays.
The main concern from stakeholders is that if enacted, this proposed regulation, would be detrimental to the economy, adversely affect tourism and leisure in the province and lead to job losses.
As we have indicated on various occasions, public consultation is a critical aspect of a caring government and a principle that we take very seriously. We made an undertaking to the Gauteng public that we would give due and genuine consideration to all the objections raised. We will not march forward with proposals that are against the popular will.
Extension of Shebeen Permits
We have extended liquor-trading permits for shebeens from 1 March 2013 until 01 March 2014. The extension will be used to provide space for the migration of shebeen permits into the liquor-licensing regime. During the extension period, shebeen permit holders should apply for shebeen licences. The migration from permits to licences means that shebeen owners will now be subjected to the same conditions applicable to other liquor licencees under the Gauteng Liquor Act (2003) including the provisions on renewals and compliance, offences and penalties, prohibitions and exemptions, enforcement and judicial proceedings.
The Liquor Bill
The Department will be introducing the Gauteng Liquor Bill, 2013 to the Legislature on 15th March 2013. The Bill makes provision for the establishment of an Appeal Board, for applicants or licencees who are aggrieved or not satisfied with the decision of the Board. The Bill envisages drastic changes to the laws governing the sale of alcohol in the province. In terms of the new legislation, every licence must be renewed annually. The Liquor Board must also consider issues of compliance with the licence conditions and the Liquor Act when renewing any licence.
We will intensify our job creation efforts in the year 2013/2014. Some of the projects in the pipeline include our work to strengthen the furniture manufacturing industry, the jewellery manufacturing, the expansion of job opportunities in the tourism sector and the automotive sector.
For more details and media enquiries please contact:
Ms. Phindile Kunene, Media Liaison Officer for the Department of Economic Development
Cell: 082 494 2409
Tel: 011 085 2538
Email: Phindile.Kunene@gauteng.gov.za
