Leadership and Management of The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa

Representatives of Foreign Missions

Members of the Mayoral Committee present

Officials from the City as well as National and Provincial Government

Esteemed guests

Good afternoon

The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa 2022 could not have taken place at a better time; and if you will allow me a level bias, it could not have taken place in a better city, led by a Multi-Party Government that is eager to partner with you to turn all 1,645 km² of the Metro into a construction site.

Just a few days ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa effectively announced an end to the State of Disaster, signaling that it is time to rebuild the economy; an economy that was already weak before terms like “social distancing” and “masking up” entered our lexicon.

The construction industry and its associated value chain were undeniably hit with a wrecking ball, when overnight, construction sites were forced to shut down, and sadly entire companies were forced to close their doors and pay their last wages to thousands of workers.

We want to work with you to revive the sector and economy, so that much needed jobs and job opportunities are created.

In terms of the Gross Value Added to the Joburg economy, the construction sector reached its highest growth in 2009 at 10.2%. This is to a large extent as a direct result of the needs associated with projects associated with the FIFA 2010 World Cup. A period when cranes were a permanent feature of Joburg’s iconic skyline.

The subsequent years saw a dramatic drop, with the sector reaching its lowest point of growth in 2018 with a -1.6% growth rate.

You know as well as I do that it will take time to again talk about double-digit growth in the sector, in the same way that it will take some time before the residents and businesses of Johannesburg see and feel a marked difference in service delivery.

While we cannot commit to delivering miracles, what we can do today is jointly, as the City and the construction industry, is committed to working together where developmental and economic interests align.

What we are honest about as the Multi-Party Government is that we cannot build Johannesburg, and by extension the country and the continent, on our own.

Esteemed guests,

Key to turning the City into a construction site is to create an environment that attracts investment and partnerships.

As a starting point, we need to ensure that Joburg has a reliable energy supply so that economic activity is not interrupted.

This means developing a programme of action that moves us away from solely relying on Eskom and fossil fuels.

Therefore, next month we will be hosting an Energy Indaba, where industry experts, academics, and associated industries, we will map the future of Johannesburg where the lights stay on and economic activity is sustained, in spite of Eskom.

In the following months we will also be hosting a Business Collaboration Conference, which will bring together the City and all industries so that we forge partnerships that will aid in the building of Johannesburg, which has been systemically neglected and corrupted.

For the first time, as part of the public participation process around the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), we will be hosting industry-specific stakeholders. On Thursday, 06 May 2022, we will be interacting and hearing from Property Investors and Developers.

We cannot call ourselves a new government if we continue to do things in the same old, regressive way.

Gone are the days where it is business vs government.

When I received the invitation to speak, I spoke with some of the Members of the Mayoral Committee who have vested departmental interests in the work of the construction sector.

The MMC for Housing, Cllr Mlungisi Mabaso, stated that “The City has a housing demand of approximately 480,000 households that require various forms of assistance. To further complicate matters, the funding allocation that is provided by National Government is not sufficient to address the current need. Therefore, Public Private Partnerships will enrich the work we do, and with the experience and investment that sectors like the construction industry bring, it will be able to assist the City to deliver at scale.”

We want to work with developers to address Joburg’s housing demand, by building mixed housing opportunities with social amenities.

Development Planning MMC, Cllr Belinda Echeozonjoku, who is your opposite number in the City, and is armed with 12-years of experience in the construction industry oversees the City’s spatial planning, land use development, building control, outdoor advertising, geoinformatics, and planning law enforcement.

Her portfolio has been hard at work to professionalise and energise the Department.

The Construction Permit Management System (CPMS) went live on the 10th of January this year, and it enables architects and developers to submit building applications and plans online, which speeds up the permitting and zoning processes, improves building plan examination and compliance, and ultimately prevents corruption and collusion in the construction sector.

The objective for the next six months is to reduce approval turnaround times for commercial and residential buildings, and we are working closely with the developers of the online system as well as the department's Chief Plans Examiners to achieve this. The Department is confident the CPMS will significantly reduce waiting times for architects and developers and improve the efficiency and accuracy of the City's plans examination processes.  

In line with ensuring compliance and scrutiny over all land uses and buildings within the City, we have called for external members of the Municipal Planning Tribunal and are working to reduce the backlog in appeals and objections.

We are releasing the Spatial Development Framework for public participation and public comment to ensure inputs are duly received and noted.

As the Multi-Party Government, we need to listen to our residents and developers on how you think our City should be developed, and I look forward to the participatory processes and planning for the City’s SDF.

The Joburg CBD or inner city has seen a dramatic exodus of over the last two-decades and this has been accompanied with a dramatic degradation in the look and feel of what was once Joburg’s nerve centre.

We not going to allow this to continue further.

The City’s Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS) along with other local stakeholders and law enforcement authorities have started reclaiming hijacked buildings and returning them to their owners.

In instances where owners have abandoned their properties or cannot be traced, the City will within the law claim those buildings to develop, among other things, affordable housing, early childhood development centres, recreational facilities, and opportunity centres. Equally, we will be selling some of these buildings to developers so they can help us bring the buzz back to the centre of Joburg.

In closing, I would like to outline the 7 Mayoral Priorities for our five-year term in office. These interrelated priorities are our guiding star and our commitment to Johannesburg:

A City that gets basics right, where there is clean water and a sanitary environment for every community.

A safe and secure City anchored by dedicated partnerships, the use of technology, and investment in our safety and security resources. We must be tough on crime and its causes.

A caring City that takes care of vulnerable residents such as the LGBTQIA+ community, women, children, and people with disabilities. We will make sure there is improved healthcare, drug recovery process programmes, support for homeless residents, food security programmes, and dignified old age homes.

A business-friendly City, by creating an environment for economic growth so that entrepreneurs and businesses can invest and create the jobs that will continue to make Joburg the City of Golden Opportunities. We want to bring jobs and investment to the local economy.

An inclusive City, where every corner of Joburg is a place where residents have all the amenities, they need to live a quality life with access to housing and job opportunities.

A well-run City, making Joburg a centre of clean, honest government that puts residents first, spends money wisely and is a pleasure to deal with. We must make quality customer service the gold standard.

A smart City, where we push boundaries by making the most of the talent and innovation available both inside and outside of the government. We must maximise the use of technology to empower residents and to find solutions to Joburg’s most pressing issues.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour for Joburg to host this year’s instalment of The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa.

Please enjoy your stay, spend money, and make money, but most importantly, as key partner, help me build a City of Golden Opportunities.