With the primary goal of enhancing communication between the public and private sectors.
The City of Tshwane and the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) reinforced their partnership during a recent high-level business breakfast at the Centurion Country Club.
The event, organised by the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (Teda), focused on fostering communication between the public and private sectors to address shared challenges and explore opportunities for urban development and investment.
Teda CEO Dr Lardo Stander led the gathering, which attracted over 50 developers and investors. Keynote speakers included Sapoa CEO Neil Gopal and Tshwane Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink.
Brink emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships in driving economic growth, highlighting the need for development investments to create jobs and reduce poverty.
“Our concern is how to get people to build in our city because that development investment creates jobs and helps with the relief of poverty,” he said.
“Our cities in this country are the engines of our economy, and we want to understand what makes property owners invest, what makes them stick around, and what pushes them out.”
The City of Tshwane has faced financial and governance difficulties, with irregular expenditure exceeding R10 billion in the 2022/23 fiscal year, according to the Auditor-General. The city’s unstable leadership has also hampered long-term strategic goals and service delivery.
Sapoa CEO Neil Gopal stressed the importance of collaboration, announcing that Teda recently joined Sapoa, with plans to formalise their partnership through a memorandum of understanding.
Gopal highlighted the impact of infrastructure challenges on business operations and underscored the need for joint efforts to overcome these obstacles.
The group concluded by stating that the business breakfast served as a platform for ongoing dialogue, with both the City of Tshwane and Sapoa committing to continue high-level engagements aimed at improving services, attracting investments, and driving economic growth.