Business for SA Explores Collaborative Strategy to Revitalize Johannesburg
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JEREMY MAGGS: It’s widely accepted that Johannesburg is facing a crisis. Essential services like power, water, roads, and more are deteriorating due to mismanagement and accumulating debt. In response, business leaders are stepping in, arguing that the city is too significant to collapse. Business for South Africa (B4SA) – the coalition that has supported Eskom and Transnet – is reportedly shifting its focus to Johannesburg.
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Today, I’m speaking with Martin Kingston from B4SA. The critical inquiry is whether private-sector intervention can achieve success where local government has persistently faltered.
Martin, it’s great to have you here. To start, how do you plan to avoid duplicating or undermining existing city initiatives? Collaboration will be key for this approach to succeed.
MARTIN KINGSTON: The question you’ve raised is crucial, Jeremy. In all our efforts so far – whether addressing crime, corruption, or transport – our foremost task has been to evaluate the ongoing work in both the public and private sectors, and determine how best to apply private-sector expertise and resources.
There’s a strong understanding that numerous initiatives are already in motion, from municipal level efforts to presidential task forces, as well as various private-sector initiatives.
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However, it’s evident that these efforts are not producing the necessary impact, both in altering the city’s trajectory and improving public perception. We’re genuinely concerned that, despite the commendable work being done across the nation, the prevailing perception of Johannesburg as failing needs urgent attention.
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JEREMY MAGGS: What do you think is causing the lack of impact from various initiatives?
MARTIN KINGSTON: To start with, the efforts lack coordination. A key aspect of the partnership between government and business involves identifying essential priorities and understanding their interdependencies, leveraging project management skills from the private sector to support government initiatives effectively.
While many initiatives exist, they often result in gridlock over time. Additionally, we must confront the issues of crime, corruption, and misadministration present in both public and private sectors.
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As B4SA, it isn’t our role to tackle these issues directly, but we must highlight them and insist that the state takes steps to address them.
Furthermore, there’s the political landscape to consider.
We’ve made it clear from the outset that we’re not prepared to engage in politics at any level. That responsibility resides with current government officials.
We’ve communicated this to the president. Nevertheless, we believe that two or three key initiatives could be scaled effectively.
As you noted in relation to infrastructure, we need to enact greater discipline, accountability, and responsibility, especially regarding infrastructure development, maintenance, and the revitalization of the inner city and surrounding areas.
JEREMY MAGGS: You claim to remain politically neutral, but how realistic is that in Johannesburg, Martin?
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MARTIN KINGSTON: I believe we cannot make a meaningful impact in the political arena. There’s a misconception that business engages in lobbying or manipulating political outcomes, which is neither our role nor effective.
We need to recognize it and address it privately and constructively.
In the end, the City of Johannesburg must take responsibility for its decisions.
Ultimately, this responsibility extends to the national government and the involved political parties. As we approach local elections in about 14 months, we are not pursuing this initiative to favor any political party’s agenda. Quite the opposite.
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The truth is, if we cannot secure Johannesburg’s position as the economic heart of South Africa, all our other efforts will be in vain. With national economic growth stagnating at around 1%, Johannesburg plays a critical role in either sustaining or undermining this growth.
JEREMY MAGGS: This seems like a last-minute intervention. Is it not too late for action? Should this have been initiated earlier?
MARTIN KINGSTON: That’s a valid point, Jeremy. We needed to establish initial initiatives before branching out.
We were committed to ensuring that our existing public-private efforts were unimpeded by turning our focus elsewhere. The private sector has dedicated resources, including over 750 experts and more than R350 million in cash support, either through procuring expertise or funding collaborative initiatives. At the president’s request, we later included youth unemployment as an additional focus area.
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At our latest meeting with the president just over a month ago, Johannesburg was identified as a critical issue, with requests to apply similar coordination as we have for other initiatives.
This prompted us to evaluate whether we could effectively contribute. We have not made a commitment until a thorough assessment is completed in the forthcoming months.
JEREMY MAGGS: Once the assessment is complete and assuming the initiative proceeds, how will you select chief executives or key operatives? There must be concerns about conflicts of interest.
MARTIN KINGSTON: Indeed, that is a serious concern. We are highly aware of potential conflicts of interest. We’ve established principles with the government to ensure that individuals with vested interests cannot pursue them independently.
Many CEOs, whether from financial institutions or other major companies, understand the importance of an effective city and have no conflicts. We are currently in discussions with many of them.
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Through the B4SA initiative, we’ve seen over 160 CEOs expressing their willingness to contribute and a substantial number are actively engaged in overseeing initiatives, always mindful of avoiding any real or perceived conflicts.
We will address these concerns before naming any individuals involved.
JEREMY MAGGS: Thank you, Martin Kingston.
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