President Cyril Ramaphosa says within two years the eThekwini metro has been pulled back from the precipice of collapse to the threshold of fostering economic growth.
Ramaphosa says this is thanks to the work of a presidential working group that brought together different spheres of government, the business sector and organised labour to tackle the problems that faced Durban at the time.
He has attended a feedback meeting with officials, business and trade union leaders on the successes and challenges that still remain.
Ramaphosa says as the working group continues its work, the focus must shift to encouraging investment and economic growth by cutting red tape, among other things.
“We will seek to identify areas where barriers impede the growth of your businesses. But in this regard we need cooperation. We need you to point out those areas where there are barriers, where there are impediments, where there are silly rules that we have set up that make the success of your businesses difficult. We need to make sure that we lay out the red carpet and take out the barriers and the bureaucracy.”
Ramaphosa says some of the challenges the working group will face in the next phase of its work include derelict buildings in the CBD that undermine business confidence and illicit trade. Cooperative Governance Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa elaborates on other steps that need to be taken to encourage investment.
“We will support the city and the line departments in focusing the next tranche of effort where it matters most. For instance accelerating water and sanitation upgrades and reducing non-revenue water, improving electricity distribution reliability alongside the city’s IPP pathways, and consolidating the gains in safety and security coordination.”
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