The City of Johannesburg has set out its Johannesburg AfCFTA strategy at a stakeholder session in Sandton, signalling a renewed push to reclaim the city’s status as Africa’s gateway for trade and investment. The session was convened by the Economic Development Department’s Trade and Investment Unit on Wednesday 4 May 2026 with industry experts and thought leaders.
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Stakeholders flag fundamentals before global ambition
The panel, which included Azwindini Mulaudzi, Nomthandazo Dlanga, Marcus Baliso and Palesa Rachidi, told the City that gateway ambitions cannot be delivered without first fixing the basics. Service delivery, critical infrastructure and visible urban decay in parts of the inner city were named as the leading drag on investor confidence.
Speakers called for a high-performance culture across the public and private sectors, anchored in accountability, efficiency and consequence management. Governance gaps and inefficiencies were singled out as obstacles that must be addressed if Johannesburg is to compete globally under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
Township economy and small enterprise integration
The dialogue stressed that large-scale investment attraction must run alongside grassroots economic development. Stakeholders called for the township and informal economies to be formalised and upscaled, with proposals to integrate small enterprises into mixed-use developments so they can participate in the formal economy rather than sit on its edge.
Key priority interventions
The session identified five priority interventions to reposition Johannesburg under AfCFTA:
- Inner-city revitalisation and urban cleanliness
- Infrastructure development and maintenance
- Revenue enhancement and financial sustainability
- Support for manufacturing hubs and industrial development
- Entrepreneurship development and enterprise support
Participants also flagged duplication of effort across municipal entities and pushed for tighter alignment in planning, budgeting and implementation. Benchmarking Johannesburg against leading global cities, clearer city-to-city agreements and structured trade missions were highlighted as essential to converting the AfCFTA framework into measurable outcomes.
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Sources
- City of Johannesburg media statement, 4 May 2026
- City of Johannesburg Economic Development Department: www.joburg.org.za
- African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat: au-afcfta.org
