Infrastructure investment 'not a support act, it is the main stage' - Morero

JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has reiterated calls to put infrastructure investment at centre stage, as the public and private sectors join heads to help spur the country’s economic recovery.

Morero made the comments at the inaugural Gauteng Investment Conference on Thursday morning.

He was joined by Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau, Gauteng MEC for Economic Development  Lebogang Maile and business leaders in a bid to catalyse foreign and regional direct investment into Africa’s economic powerhouse.

Morero said that Joburg’s bold 10-year infrastructure turnaround plan should be a blueprint for these efforts.

"We are directing billions of rands to fixing what matters most – roads, water, electricity, sanitation and storm water systems."

He said if the city and the province could get the basics right, then the bigger picture would fall into place.

"There can be no growth without infrastructure, no investment without power, no opportunity without connectivity. Infrastructure is not a support act, it is the main stage, it is the very spine that economic confidence is built."