18 April 2008

THE City of Cape Town has published a five-year plan to stimulate economic growth and development for the Cape metropole and its 3,3 million residents.

The strategy forms part of the City's Integrated Development Plan (IDP) which is now open for public comment until April 30.

"Spatially, the extent of the city has doubled in the past 20 years - and we need to plan ahead in order to sustain a healthy and growing economy that benefits all the people of Cape Town," said councillor Simon, Grindrod Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Social Development and Tourism. According to the five year plan, Cape Town currently generates about 78% of the Gross Geographic Product (GGP) of the Western Cape and some 12% of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It has a relatively diverse economy, though manufacturing is becoming relatively weaker. Some 93% of its businesses are small, but contribute 50% of total output and 40% of total formal employment.

In line with international trends, the city's economy is increasingly shifting towards the services sector, with the largest growth in finance, business services, trade, catering, accommodation, tourism and transport and communication.

In recent years, Cape Town has seen significant economic growth, with a 4% annual increase in GGP over the past decade and highs of 6% in 2004 and 2005.

"These benefits not only apply to the wealthy. The latest Community Survey by Statistics SA found that Western Cape municipalities outperformed their counterparts in the rest of the country in the provision of basic services," said councillor Grindrod.

According to him, Cape Town is increasingly becoming a tourist, construction, conference and cultural hub. But with this newfound economic and service delivery buoyancy, the city has also experienced increased development challenges.

"There is a pressing need to create productive employment opportunities but the city can only achieve growth if it is globally competitive. City government can improve the business environment by sharing information with local businesses, reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing safety and security, especially in areas in which development is needed.

"Economic development will be driven by accelerated investment in infrastructure, initially through addressing capacity backlogs and maintenance.

"The 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup has already proved a catalyst for public transport investment with an estimated R10 billion to be spent on the stadium, airport, road and rail facilities and services.

"Tourism will remain Cape Town's competitive draw card, while key economic sectors such as Information Communication and Technology, boat building, ship repairs and Business Process Outsourcing will be stimulated through specific programmes.

"The City also aims to reduce telecommunication costs by installing a fibre-optic network consisting of 202 km of cable connections to about 100 key municipal buildings. Spare capacity will also be made available to the private sector," he said.

Other City initiatives include the establishment of a one stop development facilitation unit to assist developers - and a red tape review programme to speed up the processing of building plans and land use applications within the statutory time frames.

The City also plans to utilise the urban development zone tax incentive to stimulate capital investment in buildings. The first Urban Development Zone (UDZ) has been established - encompassing parts of the CBD, East City, Salt River, Woodstock, Observatory, Maitland, Mowbray, Athlone and Gatesville. The second UDZ is in the vicinity of the Bellville CBD.

Through its partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium, the City aims to establish Cape Town as a globally competitive research hub.

It also plans to attract R1 billion worth of investment in conjunction with Wesgro, and to support Special Purpose Vehicles that could mobilise R800 million worth of joint ventures with the public and private sector.

"Public input is crucial for the finalisation of the IDP which commits the City to meeting specific targets over the next five years. This is an ideal opportunity for Capetonians to get involved in planning for Cape Town's future," says Dr Martin van der Merwe, the City's IDP director.

Source: Capetown.gov.za.