Makhura agrees with Mayor on inner city issues

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura said he was in agreement with the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), councillor Herman Mashaba, that the renewal of the inner city is a matter of urgency.

Since taking the reins as the CoJ’s new mayor, Mashaba has committed his administration to revitalising the inner city to attract investment, create employment and grow the local economy. But, he also said it is not something he can do alone, and called for the support of the provincial government and private sector.

The rejuvenation of the inner city forms part of Mashaba’s 10-point plan, along with major priorities such as eliminating corruption, running a pro poor government and achieving a five per cent economic growth rate by 2021.

Speaking at the State or the Province Address (SOPA) in Randfontein, Makhura said Gauteng residents expect a great deal of political maturity and cooperation from their provincial and municipal government leaders.

“We embrace the fact that our province is governed by different political parties at provincial and local levels. However, we must not allow the diversity of parties to hinder the rapid implementation of programmes and projects that objectively benefit Gauteng residents,” he said.

He said his administration would work closely with all the municipalities to kick-start the economy and help create much-needed jobs. He added that Gauteng residents refused to be left behind or left out of every plan in the transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation of the province. “Although the global and domestic economy have been characterised by sluggish growth over the past two years, the provincial economy had remained resilient. We need to support small businesses and the township economy to help create job opportunities for the youth. The Gauteng Provincial Government has increased its spending on the township economy from R600 million in 2014 to R6 billion in 2016,” he concluded.

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