Download NAME - South African Cities Network

SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES NETWORK
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Summary of Workshop: 20 and 21 June 2002
Agenda:





Introduction & Purpose of Workshop
Approval of Terms of Reference
Preliminary Audit: Economic Development in Cities
Prioritisation of Working Group Activities & Logistics
DTI/SACN Joint Working Programme
- Role of DTI in the SACN
- Micro-economic Reform Strategy
- Integrated Manufacturing Strategy
- Key DTI Projects & Programmes
Introduction and Purpose of Workshop
The chairperson (Andrew Boraine) gave a presentation on the objectives of the SA Cities
Network and set out the context of the Economic Development Programme by referring to
the key economic issues facing major cities world-wide.
Objectives of the SA Cities Network





SACN is not a representative structure or a formal intergovernmental forum
The SACN is a think tank on strategic issues facing cities and deals with issues such as
best practice, pier reviews, joint research, partnership formation, learning through
information sharing
The Network consists of the nine cities, key national departments and SALGA. In future
it will also include key research institutions and academics
The company of the SACN will consist of a board of directors and a national secreteriat.
It will be launched on 7 October 2002 (World Habitat Day)
Five themes form part of the activities of the SACN: (1) Urban Indicators, (2) Economic
Development, (3) Institutional Restructering for Service Delivery, (4) HIV/AIDS, (5)
Urban Transport
Summary of Global City Perspective:





Major cities are playing an increasingly important role in the integrated global economy
Supra national trade and financial arrangements are being entered into by cities within
multi-nation blocks, which are often to the detriment of developing cities, in terms of
trade, investment and labour markets
Changes in the nature of production - the global economic trajectory is increasingly
shifting to a service based economy
New sources of competition are emerging between cities, such as the formation of global
city regions contesting global markets
World-wide city trends:
 Large scale migration of unskilled labour to cities
 Cultural diversity of cities
 Shift of production from decentralised locations to multi-clustered agglomerates
 Widening gap between the rich and the poor and the spatial implications related
thereto, especially in terms of jobs, housing and transport
 Problem areas of cities are much larger in the developing countries

 Enormous city population and densities
 Limited economies of urbanisation
 Limited resources to address problem areas
South African cities:
 Relatively small (ie less than 10 million people)
 Balanced hierarchy of cities and towns
 Consolidated metropolitan authorities
 Part of marginalisation of African continent
 Weak skills and service mix
 Racial and spatial composition potentially compounded by global economic
integration
 Inner city decline and unsustainable urban sprawl development
 Hostile global environment
 Lack of priority given to economic development as a function of metropolitan
authorities
 Impact of HIV/AIDS on the skills base and production capacity
 Immigration and xenophobia - related problems
 75% of the SA population will be urbanised within the next generation
 70-75% of GDP is produced within the nine cities of the SACN
 Majority of poor residents now live within urban cares
 Cities are intergovernmental units - horizontal and vertical partnerships
between cities and other spheres of government are crucial to increase global
competitiveness of city firms
Preliminary Audit: City Statistics
A first attempt at disseminating key organisational and city-wide information was presented,
consisting of the following: Economic Development staff, capital budgets, operating
expenditure, city areas, population, employment and unemployment figures.
It was agreed that a Data and Information Task Team be established to investigate methods
of collecting, collating, analysing and disseminating data and information required for the
Programme. A project proposal is to be developed in this regard.
Specific attention needs
to be given to the identification of international benchmarks, the definition of data
categories in order to compare “apples with apples”, current as well as projected data sets
are to be included, reliable sources of data need to be agreed upon, and the linkages with
the Urban Indicators Programme require clarification.
The Economic Development Programme – Strategic Areas of Focus





The role of global city regions in the economy (The three metropolitan areas in Gauteng
can be viewed as a potential global city region)
Making existing city firms more competitive on a global and local basis, e.g. Eurocities.
This requires a shift from the historical place marketing strategies which has led to
unproductive competition between cities.
Reconceptualisation of economic development at the city level. Shift away from LEDtype small scale, community based micro business focus to issues of economies of
urbanisation and localisation within global, regional, national and local markets.
Linkages with national government are required.
Explicit social cohesion and poverty reduction programme needs to be part of the overall
economic development strategy.
Economic development as a function of local government can be redefined as the central
integrating function related to decision making, e.g. budget design and Integrated
Development Plans.

Interact with National Government on regional policy – shift non-urban investment bias
to city based investment programmes.
Logistical Arrangements
The City of Johannesburg is the co-ordinating city for this programme. This involves all
logistics in relation to meetings and other events of the Economic Development Programme,
preparing minutes of meetings, facilitating information collection and report generation,
liaison with other SACN programmes and key role players, such as DTI and SALGA, etc.
Meetings will be held quarterly in Johannesburg.
A Programme Co-ordinator, being accountable to a national Programme Manager within the
National Secreteriat of the SACN, will be appointed to co-ordinate the Programme and will
be based within the City of Johannesburg. A similar model followed by the IEC to manage
electoral officers will be implemented for running the SACN on the city level. Additional
services will be contracted in as and when required.
The Board of the SACN will consist of the nine cities, SALGA and the Department of
Provincial and Local Government. A contractual relationship will be entered into with the
DTI.
Funding for the SACN will be sourced from its membership in the form of subscription fees.
A web site will be developed to enable ongoing communication and information sharing
between meetings.
DTI/SACN Joint Working Programme Document
A discussion document was presented by Mameetse Masemola from the DTI. The following
points were made in relation to the document:






The partnership should be based on two-way communication and joint strategy
formulation on strategic issues. This could include the DTI perspectives on global,
industrial and trade strategies, and sectoral studies on the one hand; and the cities’
perspectives on global city regions and understanding the concept of economic
development at the city level, on the other.
The focus of the partnership is on sharing information, learning, and joint research
between the SACN and DTI.
The DTI is to play a co-ordinating function between national departments and state
owned enterprises in relation to decision making within city environments.
A single entry point to the DTI should be established for cities.
Peer review methodology can to be followed regarding joint strategy development.
Web based interaction and linkages are to be investigated
DTI/SACN Joint Meeting: 21 June 2002
The following partnership proposals were discussed with representatives of the DTI:




The DTI becomes a formal participant in the Economic Development Programme’s
quarterly meetings
The focus of the partnership is on information sharing and learning
The parties will provide assistance with capacity building and support, where required.
A single point of entry for cities will be established by the DTI





The DTI will play a co-ordinating role between national departments and state owned
enterprises in relation to decision making within city environments
The DTI will be responsible for the co-funding of the Economic Development
Programme.
Sector identification needs to be done jointly by the parties, and in line with global
markets and comparative advantages.
The role of cities as implementation agents to DTI needs to be investigated.
The conceptualisation of a global city region for Gauteng requires investigation.
In terms of a way forward, it was agreed that a motivation report is to be drafted for
consideration at a future MINMEC meeting as well as the SACN Board meeting scheduled for
22 and 23 July 2002. If the report is considered favourably, a formal agreement needs to
be drafted and entered into by the two parties.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Economic Development Programme is to be held on 19 and 20
September 2002 in Johannesburg.