Umlazi mall area to be developed
Ethewkwini mayor committed to encouraging growth of small businesses Eskom’s board given boost of power
ETHEKWINI mayor Zandile Gumede has made a commitment to develop township economies by promoting small medium enterprises (SMES) as a vehicle to drive job creation and economic transformation.
Gumede told a Durban business fair seminar at Kwamnyandu Mall in Umlazi on Friday that the mall itself was going to be expanded and the area around it would be developed further to accommodate more small businesses.
“Today we have opened the bridge at a cost of R33 million in which the National Treasury has played a big role in providing finance,” Gumede said.
“It is not the last development we are undertaking in the township. We have many more planned in this financial year as we have already set aside money to undertake these projects.”
Kwamnyandu Mall was opened in 2014 at a cost of R450m with both the private and public sectors fully involved in the construction and the development of the mall.
The recently opened bridge would link the mall with the township.
It will also have 14 trading kiosks for small businesses.
Gumede said: “We want to give opportunities to the township entrepreneurs because they are important for job creation. In South Africa they contribute around 35 percent to 55 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employ no less than 39 percent of the country’s workforce.”
Gumede said plan were also under way to develop the V section of Umlazi to be a tourist attraction.
“We want that area of V section which consists of Max Lifestyle and Eyadini Lounge to be a precinct in the form of Vilakazi Street in Johannesburg.
“We have budgeted R1.6m for that purpose in this financial year to develop it,” added Gumede.
Max Lifestyle and Eyadini Lounge are two of the most popular hangout spots in Kwazulu-natal.
Gumede said the municipality had set aside no less than R150m to develop the area around Kwamnyandu, V section and Glebelands.
She said the municipality would spend R24m on industrial incubator that would accommodate small businesses, R32m on the goats project, R15m on Glebelands to stimulate economy and reduce unemployment in and around the hostels.
“Some of them will be involved in making household furniture, cleaning detergents for government and hospitality usage and burglar guards,” she said.
The business fair itself was abuzz with small enterprises displaying their products and services on the first day. It has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 1998 where it used to attract only a few hundred attendees.
In 2016 the business fair attracted 16 100 people over three days with more than 500 exhibitors.
The Department of Communications director-general, Phumla Williams, said the department wanted the township enterprises to capitalise on the Fourth Industrial Revolution created by the digital world to grow their businesses.
“The information communications and technology (ICT) sector wants to create 700 000 jobs by 2030 and with 30 percent of work to be subcontracted to SMES, it is an opportunity for them to grab the opportunities to grow their businesses,” said Williams. PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown announced the appointment of four new members of the Eskom board on Friday in a move to stabilise the power utility’s leadership and improve its governance.
Brown appointed scientists Pulane Molokwane and Batjonile Makhubela, chartered accountant Sathiaseelan Gounden, and auditor Simphiwe Dingaan to the reconstituted Eskom board, saying they would add value to the state-owned enterprise.
Earlier this week, Brown announced that Zethembe Khoza and Johnny Dladla would be interim chairman and chief executive, respectively.
The minister said she had also added Pat Naidoo and Giovanni Leonardi to the board.
She said she would submit the names to the cabinet for approval in the next cycle and that the appointments would remain interim until the cabinet approved them.
“I believe the interim arrangements represent a new dawn at Eskom, which recorded positive results according to figures presented (at the annual general meeting) on Friday,” said Brown. Eskom is due to announce its results on July 12.
Brown said the past two months had been difficult for Eskom following the controversy around the handling of Brian Molefe’s departure and his twoweek return to the parastatal before the cabinet ordered the board to rescind his appointment. Molefe has since launched an unfair dismissal lawsuit against the board.
Eskom has been limping from one controversy to another since the release of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report in November last year, with allegations that its board included individuals with close links to the Gupta family.
Brown, who has oversight responsibilities over Eskom, has also been sucked into the utilities controversies.
“Eighteen months ago, as a shareholder representative of Eskom, I responded to the fog of allegations by introducing new requirements for board members to verify that they were not conflicted,” Brown said. “This led to four resignations from Eskom’s board. But the allegations continue to bubble to the surface.”
On Friday, Brown said she had instructed the new board and the executive to focus on the management of contracts, conflict of interests and the quality of coal supplied to Eskom.
“Over the past several years, Eskom’s reputation has been severely compromised by allegations of impropriety and conflicts of interest. None of the allegations have ever been tested in a court of law.”
Brown, however, declined to divulge the contents of a forensic investigation into former acting chief executive Matshela Koko. Eskom instituted the investigation following allegations that Koko’s stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, benefited from contracts worth R1bn. Brown said it was up to the board to handle the matter.
Meanwhile, Dladla said the recent controversies had “somehow” dampened the morale at the company. “Collectively, as leadership in Eskom, that is a task the minister has given us to look into. I have not yet put in a solid plan, but top of mind is engaging with key stakeholders, one being organised labour.”
Dladla, who has been with Eskom for 22 years, said his focus would be on “business matters”.
He planned to build confidence in the capital markets “based on the performance we continue to show within the organisation. We are, of course, faced with a number of challenges, in the country as a whole.”