CAPE TOWN THIS WEEK: A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR, ALDERMAN PATRICIA DE LILLE In economic and public policy circles, there is now a general consensus that trade, the forces that generate economic activity, flows between cities and city-regions. Where once we thought of the globe divided by lines separating countries, today we see expanding and contracting points of energy constantly connecting and disconnecting with one another. Where once we knew only formal relationships and strict rules, today we understand a dynamic system that is in constant change. Those agents of change are cities. In the economy of the 21st Century, cities are the drivers of economic growth. Indeed, the McKinsey Global Institute has advised that, over the coming decades, growth will be determined by a class of secondary cities that understand, build on or develop competitive advantages or competitive specialisations. And for the first time in the history of the world, this century, more people will live in cities than in rural locations. That is why one of the focal points of global public policy is in understanding the relationships between these growing centres. And the competition for resources is getting steeper all the time. Today, city leaders have to make themselves brand ambassadors and take their goods to the marketplace or else face the risk of getting left behind. The City of Cape Town is becoming an active player in forging a place for ourselves in this new era. We have adopted a new approach to external relations that has seen us focus all of our efforts on making the case for Cape Town to the world. In so doing, we have looked at our relative size, our economic strengths and weaknesses, our place in the world and more specifically, our place within the economically-emerging continent of Africa. We have considered our fundamental identity as a place of opportunity. And we have taken into account the desired benefits we want to see from a new approach, including leveraging investment attractors and playing our part to attract new people to live and work here. As part of this new approach, I have a number of engagements over the coming week with influential trade and investment bodies in the USA to put Cape Town, and our economy, on the map for them. Indeed, the USA was selected for an investment promotion tour given that it is the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Cape Town, constituting approximately 31% of all inward investment, thereby establishing itself as a proven market with an appetite for what Cape Town has to offer. In Miami, we will be signing a co-operative agreement with Miami-Dade county, which will establish a partnership between Cape Town and one of the US’s leading cities. But this partnership goes beyond the formal ‘sister’ agreements that have been typical of cities relationships in previous decades. We are interested in learning from Miami’s historic experience of transforming itself from a destination known mainly for its tourism to a regional business, commercial and transportation hub. For not only does Miami provide a critical conduit through which huge amounts of goods and passengers move, its advanced tertiary services sector supports private sector activity in both South and Central America while also acting as an access point for US markets. Globally, American cities have pioneered the approach of promoting investment opportunities for companies that have operations within their boundaries. This is the way that they stay competitive and stimulate growth in their regions. This promotion often involves the work of departments specialising in economic facilitation. We will be meeting with Enterprise Florida to present Cape Town as an access point to Africa for interested companies. Further, we will be advancing our talks of re-establishing the direct flight between Miami and Cape Town in the hope of bringing in greater numbers of tourists each year. And we will be discussing the management of cruise liner traffic which Miami has specialised in and which Cape Town is still learning. In Washington, the City will be presenting the investment case for Cape Town to the US/SA Business Council. This body specialises in providing a platform for American companies interested in investing in South Africa. Our meeting is with business representatives who are seriously considering investing in Cape Town specifically. We are focusing our efforts on providing the ‘tipping point’ to bring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to our great city. In New York, we will be meeting with representatives from the Tourism and Film industries to demonstrate the competitive advantages we have in these sectors. In addition to this, I will be meeting with the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, to discuss the business links between Cape Town and New York. We will also be meeting with New York City’s Economic Development Agency in the interests of making Cape Town an investment destination that they promote to interested companies looking for entry into the African market. And we will be meeting with the Chief Operating Officer of Apple as it is considering options for establishing further operations in its supply chain from a range of contenders. Finally, I will be participating in the United Nations’ Private Sector Forum and addressing the African Business Conference in New York. In the 21st Century, competition is only increasing between cities trying to attract a limited amount of resources to stimulate growth and job creation. In such a world, no city can afford to sit back and hope for the best. They have to go out there and make the case for investment. That is the approach we are following in Cape Town. We are fortunate in that we have some name recognition globally but that recognition is mainly associated with tourism. As important as that sector is, we have to expand our horizons to ensure that we have a diversified economy that will make our city sustainable in the long-term. That takes hard work. But where the rivalry for foreign investment is so fierce, we have to do everything we can to grow the private sector and create the economic enabling environment for growth and jobs. Investment promotion is our strategy for Cape Town’s future. End Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town Media enquiries: Solly Malatsi, Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Patricia de Lille, Tel: 021 400 1382 or Cell: 083 943 1449, Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 09:27:41 +0000
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