Issued by: Gauteng Government
JOHANNESBURG, 25 NOVEMBER 1999
Mr. Cronje Governor of the Reserve Bank
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today, together with ABSA, we are taking yet another step towards the regeneration of the Johannesburg Central Business District. Our joint confidence in the ability of the city to rise from the ashes and begin taking its rightful place among the great cities of the world is bearing fruit.
Your unwavering support and commitment to the economic future of this African giant has seen an increasing number of businesses returning to the CBD. It is the combination of businesses that have endured the challenges of operating in this city and the new found confidence of others which is finally leading towards the realisation of Johannesburg's investment potential. We commend all of you for joining hands with us in rebuilding iGoli - the city of gold.
We appreciate your continuing investment because Johannesburg is the nerve-centre of finance, commerce and industry not just for South Africa but for the continent as well. It is the economic life of this city that makes the South African economy the envy of many inside and outside of our country.
For those of us who are deeply committed to the growth of our provincial economy and the concomitant development and upliftment of our people, there can be no better place to be.
It is for this reason that we applaud the decision by ABSA to remain a permanent feature of our city's economic landscape. The extent to which such a commitment by business, both big and small, can influence our markets must never be undermined.
We must however bear in mind that a significant part of this market is made up of an emerging small business sector, which has potential labour-absorptive capacity. Although the statistical base of this sector is still growing, we have no doubt that it plays a crucial role in people's efforts to meet basic needs especially in cases where the formal economy is unable to meet the escalating demand for employment. We must therefore see SMME's as an intergral part of economic development and employment creation.
Added to this is a challenge we face on how together with the banking sector, we can establish prudent non-discriminatory lending criteria, to facilitate the growth of this sector. We must counter the perception that a key factor militating against increased investment in the SMME sector is the structure of the financial sector, which is seen to be targeting corporate accounts while ignoring the SMME sector. A further concern is the risk aversion of institutional investors who tend to focus on "safer" and larger investments which yield relatively few social and economic benefits.
These investors have few social responsibility vehicles that effectively cross-subsidise from their wealthy clients to those requiring start-up support. I do not agree with the view that SMME investment is not an economically viable investment as they are impediments to investment in the SMME sector.
Although a wholesale abandonment of lending criteria is indefensible, the
challenge of economic transformation demands that we join hands in efforts to broaden the ownership and management of the economy from the privileged few to include those who were marginalised and excluded by apartheid.
Unless we create employment, provide shelter for the homeless and effectively reduce the income inequalities between blacks and whites, poor and rich, we must expect that at some point in the near future, our society will be torn apart by conflicts which would be difficult to resolve. When the poor rises, they rise against all of us. This we must prevent since it will roll back the gains made since 1994.
We commend to approach taken by the business community in our province especially in Johannesburg.
ABSA's contribution in financing the establishment of a satellite police station makes their investment more significant. This does not take away government's responsibility to ensure that we create conditions of stability and engender confidence in the private sector in our ability to arrest crime and manage the economy in a responsible manner. Together with other businesses, you are sending a clear message to the whole province that the time has come for all of us to demonstrate our patriotism through our practical actions.
The safety and security of everyone that lives and works in Johannesburg is paramount to us. The same applies to visitors to our city.
We are working closely with the SAPS and the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council on visible policing projects in the city centre, in the suburbs and the townships to ensure that they become secure places to be. We are focusing on building more capacity within the police to deal more effectively with crime by removing policemen and women from administrative work in offices and deploying them in the streets where criminals have declared war on decent and law-abiding citizens.
Together with communities, business and workers we must unite, mobilise resources and work closely with the police in eradicating the menace of crime.
We are confident that as we continue with our urban renewal programme and
as the private sector becomes even more involved in the revitalisation of Johannesburg your investment is going to yield lucrative dividends for both ABSA and the community of Johannesburg. As the people become economically empowered, so will your profit grow in direct proportion to your commitment and investment in a better life for the people of this city.
I thank you.