Media statement 6 December 2023
Cllr Kingsley Wakelin
MMC for Corporate and Shared Services
In my capacity as the acting Executive Mayor of Tshwane, I opened the 15th annual Public Sector Economist Forum (PSEF) Conference at Tshwane House this morning. The three-day conference takes place under the theme, An economy in crisis and the way forward.
PSEF is a gathering of experts, economic practitioners and critical stakeholders in the public sector dedicated to developing new knowledge and insights into the challenges facing our society using data and best practices.
This administration believes in evidence-based decision-making. To that end, we recognise that we need far better data about Tshwane to work our way out of the multiple challenges facing us today.
Two of the top three sectors for Tshwane’s economy are financial services and manufacturing sectors, and both require strong technical skills. The City’s artisan training programme is being designed to address this need by developing our own staff. Our aim is to work closely with the private sector to drive youth employment and investment in these key sectors.
In driving economic growth and employment in Tshwane, we need to focus on promoting entrepreneurship and small, medium and micro enterprises. Part of this is skills development, but for the government the focus must be on creating the right enabling environment for people to thrive in business.
Collaborations such as this one are vital to finding solutions that drive positive change in our capital city and country.
I would like to thank everyone that is participating in this forum and creating a platform for knowledge-sharing and networking that will ultimately be beneficial to our country.
Media enquiries:
MMC Kingsley Wakelin