Recently Gauteng MEC of Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, launched the province’s first-ever Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) report at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the biggest stock exchange on the African continent.
The MERO report, a partnership between the Gauteng Provincial Government and Ernst & Young – a multinational professional services firm and one of the “Big Four” accounting firms globally – is an important instrument for Gauteng’s short-term, medium-term and long-term developmental vision.
The significance of the MERO Through methodological triangulation, using both qualitative and quantitative data, as well as the use of several advanced data-collection methods, the MERO report provides a comprehensive analysis and projection of the socio-economic conditions and trends among municipalities in Gauteng.
While analysis of the economy and political economy of Gauteng has been conducted over the years, this is the first time that a comprehensive analysis of all municipalities has been done at the scale of the MERO. One of the key findings from the Gauteng MERO report is the need to focus on data driven decision making at a local government level using targeted, relevant and recent data.
Data driven decisions will allow local government officials to identify opportunities (i.e. sectors performing well, improvements in service delivery, private and public sector investment, strategic infrastructure like airports etc.) that they can leverage within the municipality.
Furthermore, it identifies weaknesses and potential areas of risks that need to be addressed through targeted initiatives. The strategic importance of Gauteng as the nerve-centre of the national and regional economy means that planning must be at the centre of its development, and by extension, the development of South Africa and the entire continent.
The MERO provides a unique and comprehensive status update on the province, which allows for evidencebased planning, policy making, and budgeting.
In examining prevailing global, national and provincial developments that are likely to shape the economic trajectory of Gauteng 2 and its district, metropolitan and local municipalities, the MERO enables both the provincial and local government to develop context-specific interventions needed to build stronger municipalities for a stronger nation and region.
This is in alignment with the Grow Gauteng Together 2030 (GGT2030) strategy that is anchored on the transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation of the Gauteng economy.
The MERO is important not only for the Gauteng Provincial Government but for other institutions of government including the South African Revenue Service (SARS). This is because the report unpacks relevant statistics on GDPR and jobs at a municipal level, adding to the SARS Spatial Tax dataset.
This spatial tax data is crucial for understanding and addressing economic and social challenges in South Africa. It allows for granular analysis of economic activity across different geographic areas, enabling targeted interventions and policy development.
This data helps in identifying areas of economic growth and decline, understanding the impact of economic shocks, and informing policy decisions related to job creation, infrastructure development, and service delivery. Beyond providing a macroeconomic context of Gauteng municipalities and unpacking relevant statistics on jobs at a municipal level, the MERO also provides a comprehensive overview of socio-economic indicators that affect and shape the lives of Gauteng residents.
In a province that is battling with crime, a crisis whose alleviation has been identified as a key priority for the provincial government, the MERO report’s comprehensive analysis of the safety and well-being in Gauteng is especially critical.
The MERO provides an overview of the health safety and wellbeing in all district, metropolitan and local municipalities by looking socio-economic indicators such as population statistics, poverty, inequality and unemployment as well as health, education, access to housing and crime.
Understanding these issues at a statistical level is important not only for the government, but for the private sector and investors as well. Public-private partnerships as a tool for sustainable and inclusive development Beyond its commitment to crystalising and solidifying intergovernmental relations, the Gauteng Provincial Government is deeply committed to growing and strengthening partnerships with the private sector, academia and broader civil society.
The MERO report, done in partnership with Ernst & Young, a globally-renowned firm that plays a significant role in the world economy, is a concrete demonstration of this commitment. The Gauteng Provincial Government recognises the important role that the private sector plays in the province’s economic growth and development.
As a critical stakeholder in the province, the private sector must become more engaged in the work of the provincial and local government. This is the only way to ensure sustainable and inclusive development, as well as to foster innovation geared towards an African developmental agenda.
The launch of the first-ever MERO report in Gauteng is a ground-breaking development whose significance has wide-ranging implications for policy-development, planning and budgeting for municipalities.
MEC Maile captured this aptly in the conclusion of his address, emphasising the importance of evidence-based policy-making and planning and the development of local economies.
According to the MEC: “Municipalities are crucial in South Africa for providing essential services, fostering economic development, and ensuring democratic governance at the local level. They are the first point of contact for citizens regarding service delivery and local governance issues. For municipalities to plan and budget efficiently, credible data such as that provided by the MERO report must be available. We must continue to build stronger and better communities in Gauteng, and to do so hand-in-hand with all sectors. Just as challenges that we confront affect us all, so too does shared prosperity benefit us all”.
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