Johannesburg - Gauteng remains a major contributor to South Africa's economy, despite the ongoing global recession, according to Finance MEC, Mandla Nkomfe.
The Gauteng Provincial Government reported that Nkomfe tabled the 2011 Provincial Economic Review and outlook (PERO) at the Legislature on Tuesday.
"The 2011 PERO document shows that the province's Gross Domestic Product by Region (GDP-R) increased from R474 billion in 2002 to R500 billion in 2004 before jumping to R644 billion last year and it is expected to reach R758 billion by 2014.
"Gauteng remains the single largest contributor to the national economy, generating 35 percent of the country's GDP in 2010," he said.
Addressing the provincial lawmakers, MEC Nkomfe said the figures were expected to increase to 35.5 percent by 2014.
The metropolitan municipalities, which include the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, accounted for the largest share of the total GDP-R last year with Tshwane as an administrative centre of government, he said.
Nkomfe said Gauteng had many comparative advantages which included:
- a strong financial and industrial base;
- high quality information technology accessibility;
- outstanding business services;
- an enabling environment; and
- excellent freight and logistics.
Although manufacturing was identified in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2) as one of the sectors to create employment, growth in the sub-sector was still moderate after the effects of the global financial crisis.
"The 2011 PERO publication revealed that the primary sector employed 1.5 percent sector of total people employed in the province in 2010, while the secondary and tertiary sectors employed 24 percent and 74 percent respectively," he explained.
Nkomfe, however, acknowledged that unemployment still remained a challenge and acted as a constraint to the province's economy growth.
"Those who are employed are shown to have higher education, while those who fall under the category of unemployed, discouraged work seekers and other Not Economical Active (NEA) categories include a high percentage of individuals that have not completed secondary schooling," he concluded.
