Small towns are sidelined, misunderstood and overlooked when it comes to economic development in post-apartheid South Africa.
This is the view of Phila Xuza, CEO of the Centre for Small Towns Regeneration, which supports municipalities and businesses with the aim of regenerating small towns.
Xuza was one of eight panellists speaking at the annual Black Management Forum provincial conference held at the Tramways building on Friday.
A number of awards were also handed out at the event.
Xuza painted a dire picture of the sidelining of small towns in terms of being active roleplayers in the economic development of the country.
She highlighted the lack of strategic intervention and urban renewal as some of the problems stifling their economy and turning them into retirement villages as young people migrate to cities.
Speaking to The Herald, she encouraged professionals to go back to small towns.
“[To develop our smalltown economies], we need to pay attention to infrastructure redevelopment, urban development and spatial planning of the towns to connect them properly, as many are in the middle of nowhere.
“We need to change how we look at small towns – we need to view them as assets.
“There are still many things that have been untapped in small towns, for example the SKA [Square Kilometre Array] project in the Karoo.
“If all goes well, that will be the richest small town in the whole of Africa,” she said.
Xuza also challenged the BMF to work with municipalities to create engagements surrounding policies that would speak directly to small-town development.
Transformation, wealth redistribution and inclusive growth were some of the buzz words used by the business leaders, who unpacked ways to revamp the dwindling economy of the Eastern Cape.
Another panellist, Luvuyo Nomsana from the Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council, which seeks to address underdevelopment and poverty in the province, believes that the critical sectors – agriculture, mining and electricity – that could boost its GDP, are not well invested in.
Nomsana linked the high youth unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape and youth migration to cities to how the province invested in sectors, and argued that sectors that had high levels of investment were not youth-oriented.
“[We need to] build an inclusive economy,” he said.
“That inclusive growth must be underpinned by focusing on the productive sectors of the economy.
“We [also] need to build economic systems, create more economic enablers and reverse more binding constraints.”
The keynote speaker at the gala dinner and award ceremony, Andile Nomlala, executive director at the Glenheim SME Impact Fund, encouraged business to shy away from relying on assistance from government economic development opportunities.
“The sentiment that was shared by the other speakers at the conference earlier was that it is imperative for business, in this context black business, to drive development in our country,” Nomlala said.
“The government must take its rightful responsibility of being a ‘referee’ in our economy – something it is not doing well as it is doubling up as drivers of development and enablers of legislation and regulation.”
Nomlala also called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) spearheaded by highly skilled business owners.
“We need a system that will not be controlled by the government or business, but controlled by all critical spheres of our society . . . where our people are accountable to the SWF for the development of this country,” he said.
Winners of the BMF awards

Student Leader of the Year – Boitshoko Kalebe;
 Young Professional of the Year – Leslie Ann Brauns;
Company of the Year – Siulo Ulutho Technologies;
Entrepreneur of the Year – Bulelani Rozani;
Woman in Business Leadership Award – Nelly Pasheka;
Manager of the Year – Vuyokazi Bangazi...