All Gauteng provincial agencies in the department of economic development, which include the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), will be merged into three, namely Growth and Development, Tourism Promotion and Industry Regulation. The agencies, besides the GFC, that will be affected by the merger include Gauteng Economic Development Agency, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, the Gauteng Tourism Authority, Blue IQ and the Gambling Board.
According to Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane, the reduction of the agencies into three will save the province over R100-million.
Speaking after a meeting of her executive council in Johannesburg on Wednesday 12 May, Mokonyane said the council had considered a report on a review of all agencies with a particular focus on those in the department of economic development.
Mokonyane said the report found that some of the agencies performed similar functions, while others were not fully aligned to "strategic objectives" of the department.
The review had recommended that the agencies be retained, but with major changes to address the weaknesses and challenges.
New reports on the merger of agencies in the daily press on Thursday 13 May came as a surprise to management and staff members of the department of economic development. Three weeks previously they had been informed that merger plans had been placed on hold. There was furthermore no official notification provided by the premier’s office to any of the agencies prior to the media reports.
It is not clear how the merger will affect the GFC but it would appear that certain of its functions would be allocated to the three new divisions. For instance, any international marketing that the GFC may wish to undertake would have to be referred to Tourism Promotion while funding applications would probably be directed to Growth and Development.
At the moment between all the agencies there are eight CEOs and nine marketing managers. It is not clear how their positions will be dealt with. Mokonyane provided assurance that jobs would not be lost and it would appear that staff would be asked to apply for positions within the new structure.
The province wants to conclude the merger within the 2010/11 financial year.
