SMALL black-owned businesses, young entrepreneurs and township-based enterprises are the main target beneficiaries for the revised financial focus of the City of uMhlathuze.
Speaking at an SMME workshop hosted at the civic centre on Friday, Mayor Mduduzi Mhlongo said the city is on ‘a groundbreaking path to address poverty, unemployment and inequalities through radical economic development and transformation’.
‘It is imperative that citizens and local enterprises benefit from the strategic investments taking place in our city.
‘In the next five months, the city will be embarking on a meticulous and comprehensive process to map out a new anchor strategy and execution plan that will change the way we do business and remind those who invest in uMhlathuze that the city belongs to all who live in it,’ said Mhlongo.
‘The time has come to shift our focus from just providing basic services, to addressing urgent challenges associated with poverty and unemployment, and black business must be at the forefront – supported by the city.
Social contract
‘The city is entering into a new social contract with small businesses to create an environment supportive of doing business, but biased towards small business in the townships and rural areas.
‘All sections of the municipality must account on how small businesses are prioritised and supported.
‘The private sector must also account on downstream benefits for black owned businesses in the city.’
Mhlongo said greater focus will be placed on township and rural economy modernisation and revitalisation.
‘The review of internal supply chain management processes and systems in support of economic development and transformation will be prioritised.
‘This will promote targeted local sourcing across the length and breadth of the city, using our expenditure and buying power as a municipality.
‘We will also be running a ‘buy local’ campaign, targeting all local businesses and investors to source their business support products and raw materials from local suppliers, especially those in the townships and rural areas.
Earlier, Deputy Mayor Vera Gumbi said a review of the City’s Local Economic Development strategy had identified a number of challenges.
These included poor communication between the municipality and SMMEs, ‘fronting’, lack of a proper data base, procurement and tender issues, inadequate training and language barriers in meetings, workshops and printed business documents.
‘What we expect from this workshop is improved communication, better understanding of the municipal tender process system, information sharing and improved chances for job creation,’ said Gumbi.’
