Mogale City is strengthening its commitment to building an inclusive local economy by placing women, youth and persons with disabilities at the centre of its economic development agenda.
This was the key message at the Women in Economic Development Session convened by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Gauteng Department of Economic Development and Mogale City Local Municipality at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
Held under the theme “Women, Youth, Persons with Disabilities and Community-Led Development in Shaping Inclusive Local Economies,” the session focused on strengthening the participation of women and other marginalised groups in the local economy through enterprise development, market access, skills development and access to funding opportunities.
Gauteng MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, emphasised that Mogale City’s Local Economic Development (LED) strategy must be inclusive and deliberately address the barriers that prevent women, youth and persons with disabilities from fully participating in the economy.
“The bottom line is that government spending should not be measured by how much government spends, but by who benefits from that spending,”
This requires government to ask difficult but necessary questions about its spending, including what percentage of government expenditure reaches women, young people and persons with disabilities, and whether public investment is creating meaningful economic opportunities for these groups.
The session also provided an opportunity to reflect on Mogale City’s draft LED strategy, which is currently under review. The strategy identifies investment and economic development opportunities that are intended to translate into practical programmes and projects that benefit local communities. Key priorities include strengthening the township economy, manufacturing, agriculture, cooperatives and agro-processing, while also building the skills and capacity required for local enterprises to grow and compete.
The municipality has further identified opportunities to support women and youth through entrepreneurial and skills development, recognising that access to skills, markets, finance and business support remains critical to growing sustainable enterprises.
As Women’s Month draws to a close, the municipality’s focus remains on ensuring that the legacy of the women of 1956, whose courage and determination helped shape South Africa’s democratic journey, is carried forward through meaningful economic empowerment.