BCM partners with Services Seta to create 2 000 learnerships

BUFFALO City Metro (BCM) and the Services Seta have collaborated on a R31.6-million temporary employment project and other programmes that will produce 2 000 learnerships, internships, apprenticeships and bursaries over a period of three years.

This was revealed by BCM mayor Xola Pakati during his state-of-the-metro address. Pakati said the metro had also formed partnerships with national Treasury and the World Bank with the aim of designing and introducing interventions that will reduce the cost of doing business in the city.

He said the city was currently running a community works programme with the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs that will see 2 000 people being placed in temporary employment and will exit the project with new skills.

“We are also collaborating with the Services Seta on a three-year project amounting to R31.6-million towards learnerships, apprenticeships, bursaries and internships.

“This partnership will also see the revitalisation of the Sekunjalo Skills Centre in Nxwashu village. The contractor has already been introduced to the city,” Pakati said.

He added that a huge part of the metro was rural and some of the economic development interventions should take that into account.

“We supported three villages with wool-sorting equipment and goats. These are Ndileka, Qaga and Mantlaneni villages. Our partnership with the department of rural development and agrarian reform saw us assist a number of villages with maize production inputs and these are Pirrie Mission, Zikhova, Gxethu, Newlands, Bubele Farm, Sixenxe Co-op, [and the villages of] Majali, Masele, Jubisa, and Atile,” Pakati said.

He said in the financial year starting on Sunday, the metro will provide an irrigation system at Pirrie, Mlakalaka, Newlands, Mantsi vegetable project and Mzintshane.

Dipping tanks, were also lined up for Gwaba, Kwelera, Tolofiyeni and Dongwe villages.

“As part of the agricultural value chain, our city has a fresh produce market which serves as a platform of excellence to provide and supply quality fresh produce to the fresh produce value chain.

The market has retained fourth ranking out of 18 national markets,” he said.

“At the same time, as we build and diversify the manufacturing base of the city, we must simultaneously build the township and rural economies of the city. This is at the centre of our efforts to reduce inequality,” Pakati said.

“There is a technical task team which has been established to pursue strategies for the development of the port. The task team is constituted by the municipality, the port, BCM Development Agency, the East London IDZ and the provincial government,” Pakati said. —