Resurging Nelson Mandela Bay
The formation of business clusters in industrial and commercial areas of the metro over the past two years may have started as an experiment but, in the face of ongoing service delivery challenges, it is now clear that this approach of self-reliance is vital to protecting local business and jobs.
The concept — of businesses in a particular area formally collaborating to address their specific challenges — is part of a much-needed mindset shift, from being a passive victim of instability and the lack of service delivery to focusing on solutions and taking action to participate in creating a functioning city.
The geographic clusters operating under the umbrella of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber now number eight — Baakens Valley, Beachfront, Deal Party, Kariega, Neave/Korsten, North End, Perseverance, and Struandale
— with another two likely to be established soon, in Fairview and Walmer.
These are “ground up” organisations, initiated by groups of businesses that have approached the Chamber for guidance and support on taking their collaboration forward. The Chamber providing vital administrative services as well as access to its networks and a credible voice in lobbying on behalf of business.
The Chamber supports the concept of geographic clusters because it aligns with the Chamber’s action-orientated, solution-driven approach to getting the Bay working again and saving investments and jobs.
Clusters make sense, providing businesses in a particular area with a collective voice and muscle, the opportunity to share resources and expertise, spread the load and learn from each other.
They are driven by businesspeople who, like the Chamber leadership, believe in putting their energy into action and making a difference, rather than wasting it on complaining.
While focusing more narrowly on their own areas, each cluster can also tap into the Chamber’s resources and networks via the Chamber’s Mega Cluster and be part of a bigger positive growth mindset and movement of resurgence in the Bay.
A Master Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concluded between the Chamber and the municipality allows for business to take initiative and step in to help solve service delivery and infrastructure challenges, a key facilitator of the work of the clusters.
Business-led initiatives within the Chamber’s Tasks Teams have used this Master MOU to initiate the Adopt-aSubstation project which has 20 substations now protected from vandalism by businesses extending their security, Adopt-a-School which has fixed leaks and installed water-saving equipment at 76 schools, and Adopt-A-Leak which saved over 1.7 million litres of clean water per day.
The clusters have been involved in these and other initiatives, such as the Struandale cluster adopting the four substations in their area with security, monitoring and armed response — resulting in zero incidents of vandalism and thereby avoiding resultant disruptive unscheduled power outages.
The Beachfront cluster moved swiftly to support the of work the Beachfront Safety Forum and Summerstrand Neighbourhood Watch, installing lighting and cameras in hotspot risk areas ahead of the summer season. It has been encouraging to see momentum build with efforts extended to beyond the tourist season, to include beach cleanups and the donation of a motorbike for safety patrolling.
The Neave/Korsten cluster is tackling litter, blocked drains, rubble and overgrowth street-by-street in partnership with MES, providing homeless people with employment and skills.
The Perseverance cluster has also adopted the substation in their area with provision of security, cameras and monitoring, conducted cleanups of illegal dumping, mobilised the municipality to fix potholes and street lighting, and has proactively engaged with National Treasury to drive a vision of becoming an eco-industrial park.
The North End cluster sourced donations of paint and skills to repaint faded road markings causing a safety hazard in the area, and is also conducting communal cleanups, working towards a substation adoption and engaging in advocacy to encourage the local authority to allocate budget to deal with blocked storm water channels in the area .
These are but a few examples of the impact that can be made by working together for the common good — taking positive action that builds hope for our metro.
It takes strong, positive leadership and a team of committed volunteers, working smartly with a clear strategy and focus on key priorities with high impact, unity of purpose and values, mindsets of action and collaboration, and perhaps most important, focusing on what is within your control.
While the clusters’ core focus is on securing a conducive operating environment for business in the context of their specific areas, they have also initiated collaboration with civil society (for example, neighbourhood watches, tourism bodies, community policing forums and non-profit organisations providing solutions to pervasive poverty in the inner city) so that their efforts can uplift the area as a whole.
As we look ahead it is important that we work smarter and that best practices are shared between clusters, so that implementation of good ideas can happen faster and faster. Adjacent to this we are encouraging the clusters to each have their own vision, mission and strategies so that businesses can be mobilised around common priorities.
A vital part of the work of each cluster is to use its collective voice to advocate for national, provincial and local government to be accountable and fulfil their respective responsibilities, perform relevant statutory functions and meet statutory obligations. The objective of the clusters is not to limit or usurp the responsibility of any authority. While clusters have stepped in to hold the line during this time of instability they must still work to keep the authority accountable and wherever possible assist it to fulfil its responsibilities.
We believe the geographic clusters are doing pioneering work and that we have a model to offer for how businesses can work together to find solutions to service delivery and infrastructure shortcomings, engage local authorities with a united voice, and forge publicprivate partnerships to make a real impact.