Radical plan to benefit communities in Durban
A “RADICAL” action plan is to be unrolled by the eThekwini Municipality to bring the “economically marginalised” into the mainstream.
The blueprint for “economic emancipation” will mean jobs for black-owned small businesses, particularly those owned by the youth, women and the disabled, as well as military veterans and co-operatives that are at least 51% owned by black people.
“The participation of these groups is no longer an option, it is a must,” mayor Zandile Gumede told the municipality’s executive committee (Exco), before yesterday’s full council meeting.
The idea is that every municipal capital project will have at least 30% of the total budget benefiting the local community.
“Sub-contractors or service providers shall be selected from the wards where the service or project is being undertaken,” according to a report by the city’s supply chain management tabled at Exco.
“Consultation must take place within each ward before the start of a project to identify skilled and unskilled labour to be used for the project.”
The planned Framework for Accelerating Economic Empowerment and Transformation aims to align the municipality to a national legislative directive for procurement programmes for the marginalised.
The acting city manager, Dumisile Nene, told the executive committee: “This is the year of service delivery and action.”
According to the report, there had been growing concern about the “lack of tangible economic em- powerment of communities” in the municipality in the past three years. “Of major concern is that residents are not economically benefiting from infrastructure development projects that are being undertaken in their wards.
“This has led to the proliferation of pressure groups that have on a number of occasions stopped on-going projects in various parts of the municipality.
“The stoppage of projects has resulted in delayed service to communities, increased project costs and misalignment of interdependent projects.”
The mayor had prioritised job creation, small business support and community empowerment as one of her economic development thrusts in the next five years, the report went on.
When the plan came before the full council for approval, DA councillor Heinz de Boer said the plan needed to be discussed robustly because there were developmental, commercial and economic implications.
“Yes, we need to expand the economy to give more people more opportunities. But there is also a huge potential for it to be abused,” he said.
There were already people in the council instructing contractors on which sub-contractors to use, De Boer claimed.
Deputy mayor Fawzia Peer told the council it was the municipality’s duty to uphold society “and we can only do that by creating jobs”.
The council agreed to adopt the plan, with the DA abstaining.