/ 2 December 2016

Development agency a boost for Gauteng’s economy

GGDA Saki Zamxaka shares his enthusiasm for developing Gauteng at the Critical Thinking Forum on inclusive and sustainable economic growth through investment held on November 16 at the JSE.
GGDA Saki Zamxaka shares his enthusiasm for developing Gauteng at the Critical Thinking Forum on inclusive and sustainable economic growth through investment held on November 16 at the JSE.

Whenever he can juggle his tight schedule, Saki Zamxaka takes to the hustle and bustle of inner city Jo’burg on foot, with his camera, ready to capture interesting faces, old buildings, or anything that may tickle his fancy.

While his ambitions of being a Peter Magubane or an Alf Khumalo may not be in sharp focus, it is clear that — unlike his peers, who prefer to relax by hitting white egg-size balls along a golf course — Zamxaka gets his kicks from clicking his camera. He is fascinated by the timelessness of photography, its ability to freeze a moment.

It is this innate concern with matters of posterity that characterises his business philosophy and leadership. Zamxaka is determined to leave a lasting legacy of people first and professionalism when his tenure as chief executive of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) comes to an end. Word in the corridors is that he is eager to make a difference, with a minimum of delay. And like the many different faces on his photographic portfolio, he has amassed a team of diverse talent to the GGDA, the implementation agency of the Gauteng department of economic development, to ensure that he satisfies the demands of his job’s mandate.

But first things first. It is instructive that though located in Sandton — considered Africa’s richest square mile — you can just pitch up at the GGDA’s offices without having made a prior appointment. Such is the “ready to serve” work ethic Zamxaka has brought to the agency. His ambition is to ensure ease of doing business with the organisation and at the same time to have satisfied clients.

“Whatever information or assistance you need from us, we will always have someone to attend to you promptly. It is all about service delivery, and all under one roof,” he says.

The graduate of Bard College in New York reckons the GGDA needs to keep on improving its systems to be better placed to offer its myriad of services. With its main purpose being to grow the economy by promoting Gauteng as a globally competitive city region, it is Zamxaka’s call to ensure that the GGDA is a seamless and well-oiled operation that fires on all cylinders.

One spanner in the works, however, is that the GGDA implements many of its projects via subsidiary companies, which operate in various sectors. The other challenge is that the GGDA services the three metros and six municipalities that make up the Gauteng province, all of which vie for local and international investment.

The agency is also tasked with hosting and co-ordinating inbound foreign and local business delegations and undertaking outbound missions to promote Gauteng as a premier investment destination. In the nine months that he’s been at the helm of the GGDA, Zamxaka has led business delegations to Mozambique, Rwanda and Kenya. A trade mission trip to Germany in the next two months is in the offing.

He is firmly of the view that growing consumer markets is an important driver of intra-African investment, and says it was a shame that only about 11% of Africa’s processed goods were manufactured in the continent, while the rest came from outside. In his book there is a strong case for African countries to trade among themselves. Of interest is that South African projects in other African countries have grown annually at 44.2% since 2007, while Gauteng contributes 36.7% of the country’s GDP and 10% of the continent’s total GDP.

“The revitalisation of Africa is more than urgent, especially since the continent continues to be the second-fastest growing region in the world, after Asia,” says Zamxaka.

You might be forgiven for thinking he is some kind of superman, given the massive task he is managing. “Its been an interesting journey so far,” he says, seemingly unfazed.

What he would really like to see happening is an urgent revival of the manufacturing sector in the province, which has taken a dip in recent years. This, he says, needs to be done within a framework of control and governance, while encouraging the development of existing economic activity and creating new opportunities to stimulate the growth of province’s economy.

The overall aim of the GGDA is to facilitate and implement key projects in order to achieve the government’s strategic and socioeconomic development objectives, he says.

The fact that Gauteng has a population of just over 13.2 million people, and continues to experience rapid population growth, is a particularly important issue for Zamxaka. It is predicted that the province’s population will increase to 28 million by 2055. He believes that this increase — together with the urban agglomeration that this would entail — will make for improved economies of scale and room for innovation. But, he maintains, there have to be well-thought- out strategies to ensure sustained growth, while ensuring that the agency continues to serve as Gauteng’s major institutional driving force to transform, modernise and re-industrialise the province’s economy.

Part of the GGDA’s endeavour is to develop companies to be export ready, and the agency has already trained and developed a total of 424 companies. The GGDA has also managed to facilitate foreign direct investment to the value of R1.6-billion, exceeding their target of R700-million, as well as domestic investment to the value of R567.5-million. The GGDA has also assisted businesses to apply for national incentives, identify investment locations or premises, facilitated visa applications and boosted municipal utilities.

Looking ahead, Zamxaka said the work to position the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) continues. He said the construction of the bulk infrastructure is well on its way and it remains a foundation to build one of the strategic IDZs within the country. Development of the second phase of the Gauteng IDZ continues, and talks during this financial year regarding the proposed development of a fuel-cell Special Economic Zone within Ekurhuleni metro were successful. Zamxaka is proud the fact that the GGDA achieved five clean audits and one unqualified audit. He was full of praise for the commitment and dedication of the staff and the hawk-eyed oversight of the board of directors.