The Drakenstein Business Chamber, in collaboration with the My AHi Western Cape, recently introduced the Western Cape government’s Growth for Jobs (G4J) initiative aimed at being a “R1-trillion inclusive economy by 2035” and growing between 4- to 6% per year.
Members of the Drakenstein as well as Stellenbosch Business Chamber, all of them local business owners in the Boland region, attended the session at Nantes Estate, where Jo-Ann Johnston, Deputy Director-General of the Western Cape government introduced the initiative.
G4J, set up by the provincial government, aims to create more jobs in the 12 years until 2035 as set out by one of its goals.
“The outcome of the growth diagnostic that informed this [G4J] strategy was that, while the Western Cape has the potential to grow more quickly, its growth is currently weighed down by risks and constraints driven by national factors,” says the G4J strategy document. “Therefore the Western Cape’s growth trajectory has to break loose from the historical trend of tracking national economy growth rates.
“At its heart the G4J strategy is premised on a recognition that the private sector creates jobs, and that the state needs to stimulate market growth and create an enabling environment in which people and businesses are enabled to create and exploit opportunities.”
The document is available on the Western Cape government’s website.
During the session Johnston explained the initiative is “evidence based” and local municipalities had been consulted on, among other things, their unemployment rates, which enabled the provincial government to set realistic goals with substantiated statistics.
According to the strategy’s document it is “not the work of any one department,” but rather “an all-of-government and all-of-society strategy whose success requires the energy, commitment and allocation of resources from across government, the private sector and civil society.”
The implementation of the G4J strategy will commence through seven tactics, namely foreign and national investments, becoming more environmentally friendly, being more water secure and improving technology and innovation initiatives.
The specific methods of implementation still need to be established.
After the session, members of the two business chambers had the chance to engage in a question-and-answer session with Johnston, where a handful discussed the grievances and “red tape” from their local municipalities in trying to keep their business afloat or expand it.
The business owners unanimously agreed the Western Cape government’s G4J strategy is a good initiative, but will be difficult for businesses to implement due to the “red tape” they faced from their local municipalities when trying to establish or grow their business.
According to Dirk Breytenbach, chairperson of the Drakenstein business chamber, “bureaucracy and municipal red tape is a disease that runs through the whole country” which prevents job creation.
When businesses are affected by this bureaucracy and cannot be assisted by local ward councillors, Breytenbach argued, it is best to contact the Mayor or Deputy Mayor directly.
Paarl Post reached out to Drakenstein Municipality, asking what its plan is to promote the Western Cape government’s G4Jobs initiative and what actions are being implemented by it to reduce the bureaucracy or red tape, but received a generic answer.
According to Seraj Johaar, Executive Director of Corporate and Planning Services at Drakenstein Municipality, it had implemented measures to minimise the bureaucracy, but did not elaborate, particularly on what they entail or how they will work. There is the:
Drakenstein development and investment prospectus, targeted to attract potential investors and developers.- The establishment of the Investment Desk and associated steering committees, to facilitate the ease of doing business with the municipality, and
- The establishment of the Drakenstein Property Development Forum and the implementation of a focused investment area management function to ensure business retention and build business confidence.
It was, however, not explained what these entailed and how exactly they will minimise municipal bureaucracy and red tape.
