The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has been very busy – behind the scenes – with projects that will catalyse economic growth in the region.
Against the backdrop of a technical recession and the persistent challenge of the unemployment rate, the World Bank released its Doing Business in South Africa report at the end of September.
In the report, the World Bank researchers detail the many difficulties faced by entrepreneurs who – though eager to start their own ventures and create opportunities for the country’s unemployed masses – become entangled in red tape before they manage to establish their place within the greater economy.
Out of the nine cities included in the survey, Nelson Mandela Bay was often ranked in the middle section of the list.
We should aim to be placed at the top.
However, a lot of work still needs to be done if we hope to compete with some of the cities that performed better (including Cape Town and Mangaung) for the attention of prospective investors.
We are past the point of laying this task at the feet of government officials; business and civil society need to play their parts.
In the various categories, Nelson Mandela Bay was ranked:
● Fifth, in the efficiency of dealing with both construction permit applications and property registrations;
● Sixth, when it came to enforcing contracts that are in place;
● And in ninth and last place on the process of setting up an electricity connection.
In the last category, the report notes that the metro made the most significant progress of all nine areas since 2015.
Nelson Mandela Bay also showed the most improvement relating to construction permits, through engaging with the municipalities of Tshwane and Johannesburg, and learning from their practices.
Should this collaborative approach not be the norm?
The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber strongly advocates for collaborative relationships – not only between local government departments, but between the various stakeholders and organisations that make up the business community.
To this end, the Business Chamber has established seven task teams, who have been championing and lobbying for the provision of the necessary infrastructure and systems that will ultimately make the Bay a first-class investment destination.
These task teams, which include SME, roads and stormwater, electricity, water, transport and logistics, metro collaboration, and a trade and investment sub-committee, have proven very effective in defending and promoting the interests of business in the metro.
One example of such success was the electricity task team’s proposal for Eskom to condense its two peak periods a day into one.
Our argument was that the two peak periods were expensive and disruptive to businesses, who had to align their busiest periods to the off-peak hours.
Eskom agreed to run a pilot exclusively in Nelson Mandela Bay during July and August, where only one peak period was implemented.
During this pilot, time-ofuse businesses saved an estimated R20m – as a direct result of the Business Chamber’s lobbying efforts.
As an organisation, we’ve raised funds from our members in the past to support the Business Chamber’s representation of the city, and our advocacy and lobbying on these important issues.
Each year, we present a compelling case against unreasonable electricity tariff increases at the Nersa public hearings.
Last year, the tariff hikes were limited to 5.23%, with an increase of 6.8% (and 4.8% for time-of-use clients) being granted this year, effective from April 2019.
This cause is so vital to business in the region that we are in the process of lobbying other business chambers throughout the country to join us, so that we may tackle the issue of high tariffs as a collective in future.
The Business Chamber also established its own ease of doing business helpdesk earlier this year.
Through this initiative, the Business Chamber assists local business owners to reduce the red tape of starting and running a business – including obtaining construction permits and property registrations.
It is very clear that the model adopted by the Business Chamber is effective and that if we stick to it as a city, we are likely to achieve our desired status as a top investment destination.
In the conclusion of the report, the World Bank advises that there is room for coordinating and learning across spheres of government and the private sector.
Let’s get the city ready to be top of mind for investors who can bring opportunities for growth.