South Africa needs leadership now more than ever to take the country forward, South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) and Tongaat Hulett development MD Mike Deighton says.

In a meeting between Sapoa and key government stakeholders, aimed at fostering relationships between the public and private sectors on issues affecting property owners, managers and developers in Pretoria, he added that the countrywide student protests against proposed tuition fee increases for 2016 was a “perfect opportunity” to reflect.

“Education is a fundamental step needed to flood our society with great young talent. With regard to advocacy, the industry is faced with huge challenges as a result of legislation impacting on us. We need to start talking about how to advocate for a business environment that is conducive to investment, growth and success in a constructive way,” he said.

Speaking on the future of the capital city, City of Tshwane economic development and planning MMC Subesh Pillay noted that local government aimed to make the city liveable, resilient and inclusive and for its citizens to enjoy a high quality of life, have access to social, economic and enhanced political freedoms and where citizens are partners in the development of the African capital city of excellence by 2055.

“The current population in the city is close to four-million people and is expected to rise to about 8.5-million people by 2055. In light of this vision, the city does envisage some challenges, including the requirement of additional infrastructure across the areas of water, sewage, solid waste, electricity and transport to ensure that growth is sustainable,” he said.

However, he noted that there were several major interventions that the city would implement to create efficiency and fast-track processes, particularly inner city regeneration, including the introduction of incentives to attract investments, as well as quickening the approval processes.