Venue: Chalsty Auditorium, West Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Date: 17 April 2009 Time: 8:30 – 17:00
Economic Meltdown | Colloquium | 17 April 2009
The global meltdown: what caused it? How will it change the world? How should governments respond? And how should towns and cities, labour and the private sector respond? What will it mean for me in my work?
This colloquium, organised by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory and the Gauteng Economic Development Agency, seeks to facilitate an understanding of the crisis that is gripping – and changing – the world. The programme includes analyses from highly regarded scholars and experts; as well as facilitated sessions where participants will debate the implications of the crisis for specific sectors and their day-to-day work. The colloquium is an opportunity for universities, government, labour, the private sector and others to engage in discussion. The event is not meant to provide simple answers; it is an opportunity for the universities of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, both partners in the GCRO, to create an intellectual space for engagement with stakeholders from government and elsewhere to reason, argue, discuss and come to grips with critical issues facing us all.
Opening | 9:00 – 9:30
- Loyiso Nongxa, Vice Chancellor, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg: Opening and Welcome.
- Ihron Rensburg, Vice Chancellor, University of Johannesburg: GCRO, the academy and government, learning together on key issues of the day.
- Mr. Mandla Nkomfe, MEC Department of Economic Development, Gauteng Provincial Government: Provincial economic development perspective of the global crisis.
Panel 1 | Plenary Session | 9:30 – 11:00
- Ben Turok, MP: The challenge to economic orthodoxy – time for change.
- Leon Louw, Free Market Foundation: The Global government failure crisis
- Siphiwe Mgcina, COSATU: A labour perspective of the economic crisis.
- Q&A.
Tea | 11:00 – 11:30
Panel 2 | Plenary Session | 11:30 – 13:00
- Neva Makgetla, DBSA: The structural roots of the global crisis, impact on SA and government response.
- Rudolf Gouws, Rand Merchant Bank: The broader impact of the economic crisis on SA.
- Alan Mabin, University of the Witwatersrand: Regional and city responses – a global perspective.
- Q&A.
Lunch | 13:00 – 14:00
Breakaway Sessions | 14:00 – 15:30
- Labour (Facilitator Dr Ashwin Desai, UJ
- Towns and cities (Facilitated by Prof Alan Mabin, Wits).
- Government (Facilitated by Prof D. Plaatjies, Wits). Economic and investment development agencies (Facilitated by Mr Blake Mosley-Lefatola, GEDA).
Report back from session facilitators | 15:30 – 16:00: Led by Blake Mosley-Lefatola
Close | 16:00 | Mr Victor Moche, Chairman – GEDA Board of Directors
PROFESSOR BEN TUROK M P (ANC)
Professor Ben Turok has been a Member of Parliament in South Africa since 1995, representing the African National Congress. Previous positions include appointment as Head of the Commission on the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), member of the Provincial Cabinet in Gauteng and member of the Finance Committee in the National Assembly. He is also currently a member of the Portfolio Committees of Trade and Industry and of Foreign Affairs, specializing in African development economics and politics.
Ben Turok has degrees in engineering, philosophy and political science and is the author of 17 books on development in Africa. He has taught at a number of universities, including the Open University UK and University of Zambia and is a visiting professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has lectured and presented papers at a wide range of international institutions, including the United Nations and the European Parliament. He is also a member of the International Development Economists Association and was the founding Director of the Pan-African policy research Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA).
He is the Editor and Chairperson of New Agenda, South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy. He is the Chairperson of the Nepad Contact Group of African Parliamentarians and is also a member of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank.
In 2008, the South African Students Congress (SASCO) awarded him the Frantz Fanon Award for “public dialogue” and “intellectual work” at the 15 National Congress in Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha.
LEON MARAIS LOUW
Leon Louw is a well known South African personality who, for over a generation, has been active in diverse aspects of public life. He is credited with having had a significant impact on the course of events in South Africa, especially regarding the extensive economic reforms that have taken place during the past two decades. He has received numerous international awards, and, with his wife, Frances Kendall, has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Presently he is the Executive Director of the Free Market Foundation (FMF) and of the Law Review Project (LRP).
DR NEVA SEIDMAN MAKGETLA
Dr Neva Makgetla is lead economist for research and information at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which she joined in October 2008. She is seconded part-time as Sector Strategies Co-ordinator for the Presidency. From 2006 to 2008, Makgetla worked at the Presidency full time on sector strategies. From 2000 to 2006, she was policy co-ordinator for fiscal and monetary policy and, from 2005, head of the policy unit at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). She represented labour as a member of the Securities Regulatory Panel, the Financial Sector Charter Council and the Employment Equity Commission. Makgetla completed her B.A. (Hons) at Harvard University, and her Ph.D. in Economics in Berlin.
RUDOLF GOUWS
Rudolf Gouws obtained a masters degree in Economics from the University of Stellenbosch in 1971. He became Chief Economist of the Nedbank Group in 1979, and since 1986 he has been Chief Economist of Rand Merchant Bank and a member of its board. He chaired the Economic Policy Committee of BSA (Business South Africa) from 1996 to 2003, and served in Nedlac. He is an honorary professor of Economics at the University of Stellenbosch.
ALAN MABIN
Alan Mabin is Head of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg and was previously Professor of Public and Development Management at the same university from 1999 to July 2005. He holds a doctorate from Simon Fraser University, Canada, and a master’s degree from Wits, and is a member of the South African Planning Institute.
Alan has worked in a variety of development fields for more than 25 years. He was involved in several aspects of the transformation of local government in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg, and has collaborated with colleagues in Brazil, France and other countries on several projects.
Alan helped to establish Planact in 1985, an NGO working with communities to “make cities work for people”. He was a member of the Board of Planact, for many years. He leads the Wits research initiative on cities and is director of CUBES.
Current research concerns changing roles and relationships of public and private sectors in city development.
