LOGIN

The JDA is responsible for the economic and urban regeneration of the Greater Johannesburg metropolis, and Bethlehem explained the agency employs a strategy of identifying and targeting 'catalytic' investment opportunities in underperforming areas, such as Newtown, Randburg and Soweto.

An annual economic review recently conducted by the Johannesburg economic development unit showed that the city's gross value add (GVA) for 2004 was the largest of any city in Africa, at over R200-billion.

The study also looked at average annual GVA growth between 1996 and 2004, with Johannesburg having grown by 4,5% (with further improvements expected this year) compared to an average growth of 2,9% for the country.

Interestingly, although Soweto is home to nearly half of the population of Jo'burg, it only contributes 4% of economic growth, compared to Johannesburg CBD (59%) Randburg (30%) and Roodepoort (7%), Bethlehem said.

The average household income in Johannesburg in 2004 was R160 000, well up from previous years and showing faster growth that the statistics for Gauteng and South Africa.

Real household income has grown 27,9% since 1996 in Johannesburg, 6,6% in the whole country and dropped by 1,1% in Cape Town.

"The question we must ask is, 'Can the current prosperity be used to reverse socioeconomic inequalities and empower previously-disadvantaged people?'", Bethlehem said.

She said that the income diversification, which developed as a result of the Apartheid policies, has begun to diminish, but not at a fast enough rate.

That said, Johannesburg is leading the process, with black income in the city having tripled during the 1996 to 2004 period.

"Transformation initiatives are more likely to succeed if they are implemented in the context of a growing economy," Bethlehem said.

She suggested that the two most important ways of reducing inequalities are the transfer of assets and the creation of jobs.

The economic review shows that, in Johannesburg, 316 418 net new formal-sector jobs were created, a trend which, if it continues, will play a significant role in redressing the equalities in the city, Bethlehem said.

However, the challenge becomes even greater when the high levels of population migration into the city are taken into account.

Despite the large numbers of jobs being created, unemployment rates have continued to rise, largely due to migration trends and the younger demographic representation of the city.

However, the unemployment showed a small drop between 2003 and 2004 and Bethlehem is hopeful that this will develop into a new downward trend, although she adds that this would require large numbers of new jobs being created every year.

Another concern is that the strong economic growth being experienced in Johannesburg and the larger Gauteng region is not being mirrored in the rest of the country.