A call for strong partnerships and collaboration between government and the private sector was well received during the inaugural Gauteng Infrastructure Investment Conference, which closed yesterday.
The two-day conference aimed to promote mutually beneficial and transformative partnerships between government and the private sector which will contribute in transforming Gauteng into a globally competitive City Region and a preferred destination for investment and tourism.
A range of issues were discussed, including how to find innovative solutions for the delivery of strategic infrastructure in the Gauteng City Region.
Delegates committed to bridge the gap in infrastructure planning and development between government and the private sector.
“The Gauteng Infrastructure Investment Conference is a partnership in action between government and the private sector and a programmatic commitment to work together to make Gauteng a globally competitive City Region and a preferred destination for investment and tourism,” says Premier David Makhura.
The private sector showed an interest in investing in bankable strategic infrastructure projects that were presented during the conference.
“We came here to sell our vision for Gauteng, so that you can understand the inspiring vision and programme we have adopted as a country and province to build a society of our dreams,” Makhura says. “We also came here to solicit your views on our infrastructure plans, and enlist your partnership and support in making them a reality and I trust that we have done so with this conference.”
Makhura says some of the key themes that emerged from conference are:
* The need to strengthen public: private partnerships;
* The need to market and promote Gauteng more aggressively as an attractive investment destination for foreign direct investment;
* The need for government to leverage the knowledge and skills from the private sector to avoid “reinventing the wheel”; and
* Business and government must be open to looking at alternative funding options and not only use traditional funding sources, as government cannot provide all the funding.