The Mayor of Tshwane, Mr Steven Makgalapa, said to support building and growing an inclusive economy which creates jobs and rural economic transformation, the City of Tshwane have implemented various interventions, such as establishing skills development centers and partnered with various organisations to enhance the value proposition in terms of support to Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs).
Speaking at the Inaugural Tshwane Business Breakfast held on Thursday at the Maslow Hotel, Time Square Arena, he said he is of the belief that small to medium enterprises will be the backbone of economic growth in the City and the Country.
“It is our duty to ensure that we support them, we often start out in the informal economic space. This will be contributory to empowering our people who will be enabled to participate in the economy.
“Currently, there is a large decent work deficits in the informal economy. There is a need to promote decent work, compliance and enforcement, orgranisation of representation, access to finance, access to markets and entrepreneurship,” he said.
He included that workers and economic units in the informal economy do not enjoy secure property rights, which deprives them to access both capital and credit. Women, young persons, migrant and all the workers are especially vulnerable to the most serious decent work deficits in the informal economy.
The Mayor said the City of Tshwane is ideally placed to serve Africa’s largest market (Gauteng), other South African centers, African countries to the North, and global markets.
“We are therefore, fully geared towards positioning the City of Tshwane as the preferred destination for trade and investment,” the Mayor said.
He said this will be done by providing the conducive economic, social, legal and political environment for the creation of sustainable, decent jobs and business opportunities for informal traders and designing and implementing specific by-laws, policies and programmes to deal with the factors responsible for informality.
It will also be done by ensuring that the formulation and implementation of policies involve the social partners and the intended beneficiaries in the informal economy, providing an enabling framework at local levels to support representational rights, providing the conducive economic, social, legal and political environment for the creation of sustainable, decent jobs and business opportunities.
The City will also ensure that the formulation and implementation of policies involve the social partners and the intended beneficiaries, assisting informal economic units with access to information, finance, technology and entrepreneurship development.
The City will also promote an agenda geared to the needs of micro and small enterprises through the establishment of links between informal enterprises and formal enterprises.
“This City is on course towards the development of a high-growth economy that is attractive to both domestic and foreign investors.
“By working with captains of industries and assisting businesses to realize their true growth potential, the administration of Tshwane is fully geared towards positioning the City as the preferred destination for trade and investment,” Mr Makgalapa said.