City of Tshwane Executive mayor, Solly Msimanga, has once again assured residents that the City of Tshwane is on the right track in terms of goals set.
Making his speech at the 2017 edition of the Ambassadors’ luncheon at Kleinkaap Boutique hotel in Centurion, Mayor Msimanga presented the city’s goal to attract R10,8 billion in both local and international investments.
He alluded to the fact that the targeted areas to use those funds were city development and job creation.
“It is my firm belief that the stabilization of the City is the critical foundation upon which to create an environment for attracting investment and creating job opportunities into our beautiful city.” Mayor Msimanga said.
The mayor announced that the city had already attracted R2,298 billion of its set investment target, and that they have already transferred R662,3 million to the Department of Economic Development and Spatial Planning to expedite the development of Rosslyn, Enkangala and Watloo industrial parks, as well as R84 million over the medium term to afford a revamp for the Wonderboom Airport.
“In addition to the jobs that will be created by these growing industries it is important to note that the delivery of this infrastructure will in itself contribute to the amount of EPWP job opportunities which will contribute to the 23 000 new EPWP jobs. The City’s contribution for the 2017/18 financial year is R122 million.” He said.
He added that the city aims to pilot an employment awareness centre, which will assist locals with job applications, and skills pathing as well as to give information regarding employment opportunities.
The mayor then swiftly moved on to the main theme of the gathering which was titled: Renewable Energy: Realising the potential of renewable energy in Southern Africa. He explained the theme as a national project, where the cities of this country were mandated to find ways to use alternative sources of energy.
He said the city uses an estimated 28 million tons of carbon dioxide a year and that the statistic is mainly attributed to electricity consumption.
“The City has a spectrum of renewable energy projects at various stages of development. The most common and popular renewable source, namely solar, has exploded in the City as several privately driven solar installations are emerging throughout the City, the most visible being at our shopping malls.
“We have at least five large malls in Tshwane that are close to being off-grid or are generating significant capacity through solar energy.” Said the Mayor.
He further said he was proud that there are companies that produce green power and that this was a positive sign for the future.
He said, “In terms of biomass, we are immensely proud of the 4.5MW biogas digester developed in the east of the City by Bio2Watt, an independent power producer that supplies green power to BMW in Rosslyn”
“We have also experimented with hydropower – a demonstration project was undertaken by the University of Pretoria at a City reservoir. All indications are that at the very least power generated at each reservoir can support the energy requirements of the reservoir operations. This over time then becomes a cost-saving for the city,” he said.
The mayor also said that the city is working hard towards the building and supporting the building of green buildings.
“We see great opportunity in meeting unserved demand through renewable energy systems, we also see great opportunity in applying modern energy efficient systems – especially for Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Systems – that can ensure that the operating costs are reduced whilst the health of our building are maximized.” he concluded.
