Recalibrating the Development Conversation: Reflections on the 2025 WCPDF Conference

DPRU was recently invited to the Western Cape Property Development Forum’s (WCPDF) 12th Annual Conference, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in early June. This landmark event brought together over 470 stakeholders from across South Africa’s public and private sectors to engage in frank, solutions-driven dialogue on the state of fixed capital investment and development policy.
Amongst the esteemed line-up of over 30 speakers, including Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, Cape Town’s Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Prof. Haroon Bhorat – Director of DPRU and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council – was invited to deliver the keynote address on Day Two. 
Prof. Bhorat’s presentation, titled “South Africa 30 Years After Democracy: Economic Challenges and Opportunities”, explored the structural economic hurdles the country continues to face and the critical need for coherent leadership and collaboration between political and administrative spheres, with a notable statement echoed across several media outlets, “…had South Africa not endured the economic mismanagement of the Zuma era, the country might today be growing at a healthy 5% trajectory rather than below 1%.” This sobering insight framed a broader conversation around the intersection of economic policy, political will and delivery mechanisms across all tiers of government.
A recurring theme of the conference was the call for a recalibrated development model that reduces bureaucratic red tape, promotes experimentation and enables deeper private sector engagement. Speakers from across banking, engineering, and planning sectors echoed frustrations with regulatory bottlenecks, while also expressing optimism about South Africa’s long-term potential—if meaningful reforms are pursued.
The DPRU remains committed to engaging in these cross-sector conversations, offering empirical research and policy insight to support inclusive, sustainable development. We thank the WCPDF for the opportunity to participate and look forward to building on the momentum generated at this year’s event. And we are also grateful to IMIESA Magazine for spotlighting the event in its June 2025 edition (pages 10–12), which you can access here: https://issuu.com/imesa/docs/imiesa_june_2025