Shaping our own safer business precincts
Imagine a business precinct with drone surveillance and security cameras, where incidents are reported in real time to SAPS response teams.
Companies go about their business without the constant menace of crime, nor the expense to keep it at bay.
Imagine another business neighbourhood with low factory rental costs, reliable public transport, and cheap energy.
Believe it or not, this is not wishful thinking; it is wish fulfilment taking shape quietly behind the scenes of daily economic struggle.
Not mere conversation, but a concrete plan turning into a model of business wellbeing that, if successfully implemented, will be both sustainable and scalable.
The past week has witnessed some significant milestones on this journey to improving the business environment. A drive to use digital technology to combat crime has moved to project planning stage, with stakeholder support already secured and technology tools identified.
The pilot site in Philippi East is progressing thanks largely to leading firms that have united behind the idea of a ‘smart’ Central Improvement District. The project has buy-in from the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape provincial government, the SAPS, and ourselves.
It provides a model of public-private partnership that is fundamental to future economic growth, to community safety, and to overall wellbeing as a society.
Stakeholders driving this process met on Thursday as part of a Strategic Dialogue Network set up to address specific challenges by leveraging a ‘triple helix’ of government, academia and business expertise.
On Friday stakeholders tackled another project – bolstering investor confidence in the Western Cape by creating competitive industrial parks.
New candidate sites have been established, with support from local government. Manufacturers would benefit from lower factory rentals, efficient low-cost transport, a more reliable energy supply, and multiple other value adds.
This is a plan in motion, a proof-of-concept with profound potential implications for regional growth.
As the Cape Chamber we see our role as facilitating this crucial process; we help identify the key challenges affecting our business network, and we leverage this network to help identify solutions – and set them in motion.
This week we meet again, to take the next step in this shared journey.
All of this is only made possible by team effort, and the hard work and vision of our members and partners. We are not watching from the sidelines, spectators in a game beyond our control; we are actively shaping our shared economy and society. Because we can.
John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry