As the City of Tshwane, in Gauteng, continues to face challenges such as poverty and high unemployment rates, South Africa’s new multi-party administration is taking action to enable economic growth, prioritising the revitilisation of Tshwane’s economy as one of its key objectives, the city’s Economic Development and Spatial Planning MMC Sarah Mabotsa has said.

During the Investment Dialogue 2025, hosted by Tshwane Economic Development Agency (Teda) and the City of Tshwane on March 25, she described Tshwane as Gauteng’s gateway to economic success, highlighting actions taken by the administration to unlock economic opportunities.

“Tshwane is open for business,” she expressed, highlighting the city’s role and potential in areas such as education, research and innovation, diplomacy and tourism.

Mabotsa noted, however, that about one in three of the city’s working-age residents were currently unemployed.

With this in mind, she argued that the private sector could play a pivotal role in creating jobs, noting, however, the responsibility of government and politicians in creating an enabling environment for businesses to be able to create more jobs.

“Today, we look to you . . . to assist us to bring investment and employment opportunity to the residents of Tshwane. We want growth and we want more of our residents to be able to access the dignity of employment,” said Mabotsa.

Teda trade and investment board committee chairperson Jan Mocke added that the private sector drove investment, created jobs and fueled economic growth, noting government’s role in ensuring a conducive investment environment, reliable infrastructure and efficient service delivery.

“This is a foundation upon which a strong public-private partnership (PPP) must be built,” he said.

While the City of Tshwane and Teda are committed to economic development across all sectors, Mocke argued that focusing on key industries with high potential caould yield the greatest impact.

Hence, Teda has prioritised automotive, agribusiness and energy as critical sectors.

Meanwhile, as part of the city’s economic revitilisation strategy, Mabotsa also outlined specific initiatives and actions taken by the administration to stimulate the economy, which included creating more economic opportunities for growth and development in townships.

“We are revitalising our inner city by revamping and making sure that we . . . conduct inspection and police patrols, enforcing their by-law and working to make sure that our streets are clean and safe,” she added.

Mabotsa also noted that the city’s concerted efforts in cost cutting and enhanced revenue collection measures had enabled the city’s finances to improve.

Nevertheless, Tshwane is prioritising investment in strategic infrastructure to ensure it “retains its competitive edge”.