Building Smart Cities Booklet Web

Foreword by MEC Jacob Mamabolo: Advancing Smart Cities for a Transformed Gauteng

The 7th administration of the Gauteng Provincial Government resumes its work during a period of sluggish economic growth and persistent joblessness, both of which continue to challenge our province. From the onset, the Executive Council has been clear and deliberate in its approach to addressing these issues head-on. When announcing his Cabinet, Premier Panyaza Lesufi emphasised a bold and strategic realignment to accelerate economic growth and improve service delivery. Among these key structural changes, he announced that the Departments of Infrastructure Development (DID) and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) would be consolidated under a single Executive Council portfolio. To augment this realignment, the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA) has been shifted from Provincial Treasury to the Department of Infrastructure Development, ensuring that infrastructure financing is closely integrated with planning and execution. This deliberate and well-considered re-alignment has provided these three institutions—DID, COGTA and GIFA—a unique opportunity to collaborate and leverage their respective mandates to place infrastructure and urban development at the core of transforming Gauteng’s socio-economic landscape. As a result, we have developed a cohesive Infrastructure Development will be the tool to unlock economic growth and job creation together with the coordination of government work and the need to provide support to local government and our traditional leaders and communities. – Premier Panyaza Lesufi

and integrated framework that strengthens the infrastructure and urban development ecosystem to accelerates the delivery of priority provincial outcomes, as explicitly outlined by the Premier and the Executive Council. In response to this strategic imperative, we have embraced the Smart Cities Concept—an approach that aligns with National COGTA’s South African Smart Cities Framework, introduced in 2021 to guide provinces in implementing integrated, technology driven urban solutions as an enabler to improving service delivery across all Gauteng municipalities. This Smart City vision serves as the foundation for synergy among DID, COGTA, and GIFA, ensuring that infrastructure and social development is addressed through a modern, resilient, and inclusive approach.

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