Collaborative approach is key to Gauteng's growth

Market knowledge is key to remaining competitive in the current environment – and Gauteng will have to invest heavily in understanding its markets and its particular role and contribution if it wants to remain viable. According to the 2013 Thrive International Investor Perception Study released in Johannesburg earlier this year, in an increasingly globalised world, with shrinking borders driving the 24/7 culture, it is crucial for a country or a region to understand the way in which it is perceived by both its traditional markets and trading partners as well as by the markets that are bound to continue driving global growth in coming decades. While South Africa competes equitably with other emerging markets, in the study experts maintain that more cooperation and collaboration are needed from all stakeholders to drive the country forward. It is with this in mind that Brand South Africa established a task team to ensure all stakeholders work together for South Africa’s continued competitiveness, economic and social growth as mandated by the country’s National Development Plan. It is the same approach that is seeing corridors such as the Walvis Bay Corridor in Namibia and the Maputo Corridor in Mozambique grow trade. “The collaborative approach – where all stakeholders are involved from both the public and the private sector, working to meet a very clearly defined goal – is proving to be very successful in these regions,” says Liz Whitehouse, director of Whitehouse & Associates. “A similar approach is needed for Gauteng – not only to establish exactly how it is perceived and where it is heading in terms of South Africa, but also the greater southern Africa region, determining exactly who its market is and where the opportunities are. It is also important to see more formal collaboration between stakeholders because these goals cannot be achieved by the public or private sector working on its own.” Experts across the board maintain one of the greatest constraints in the country is the fragmented approach South Africa and therefore its provinces take. Explains Whitehouse: “At a national level you have the dti driving export growth, you have the department of transport focusing on roads and related infrastructure, but ports and rail fall under public enterprises. It becomes even more complex when you get to the provincial level and there is the entire private sector that also has to still be taken into account.” According to Whitehouse, these kinds of approaches often result in provinces in South Africa competing with each other rather than establishing themselves as hubs that together move the country forward.