Can big business save Joburg from the quicksand?

The city of New York produces about 8% of the entire US GDP — an impressive figure.

London, long regarded as a top global command centre for international commerce, foreign exchange, insurance and professional services, accounts for about 22% of the UK’s economy — certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Shanghai, China’s top urban economic contributor, accounts for roughly 4% of China’s total national GDP.

In Africa, one city towers all: Johannesburg, home to the continent’s largest stock exchange, which proudly bears its name. The city, which has been in serious decline for more than a decade, is also home to Africa’s largest banks by assets, Standard Bank, FirstRand, Absa and Nedbank.

The city is the largest single metropolitan contributor to the national economic product, contributing almost 16% to the national economy and 40% to Gauteng’s economy.

Simply put, of every R100 produced in South Africa’s economy, R16 comes from Johannesburg.

The decay of the city, masked by it hosting big international events such as the Brics summit and the G20 summit last year, has become undeniable, sparking “shock” in President Cyril Ramaphosa — who is a resident, albeit in the better side of it.

Over the years, the city’s budget has soared while property values plummeted and service delivery collapsed. The city also spends less on capital investment now, despite having far greater resources.

Big business has taken note of the decay and extended its hand to assist the city in getting back on its feet.

Phase 3 of the government-business partnership, officially launched by Ramaphosa this week, identified fixing the city as a key confidence multiplier in efforts to grow key sectors and create 1-million jobs by 2030.

This follows intense lobbying by big business that the city had to be rescued for the good of the broader economy.

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) warned in June that Johannesburg’s predicament was a national problem.

“The failure of Johannesburg poses systemic risk to the entire economy,” BLSA CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said.

“Business and government can achieve a great deal when they work together, as we’ve demonstrated in dealing with the electricity crisis and logistics. When structured properly, business can bring investment and skills to support service delivery,” she said.