After disrupting work at councillors’ offices, a municipal depot and customer care centres across Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday, the Local Business Committee has called off its threat to shut down municipal projects until it sits down with mayor Eugene Johnson on Wednesday.
The committee, along with Johnson, will write letters to the provincial and national offices of the co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) departments to intervene in the stand-off.
The business owners have taken issue with the slow progress in incorporating them into various construction projects around the metro.
After gathering early at the New Law Courts in North End, the group of emerging micro-enterprises owners headed to the municipality’s Harrower Road depot where about 60 of them blocked off the road.
Public Order Policing arrived and used stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Three people were arrested — including the committee’s secretary-general, Masixole Mashelele — for public violence.
They were later released without charge.
After being dispersed by the police, the group split up, with a large contingent heading to the Mount Road police station and another to the Baywest Mall.
At the time, public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille was busy with an oversight visit to the N2 nodal development project, which includes the Baywest Mall.
At the mall, the small business owners forced open the Ster-Kinekor gates while singing asinalo uvalo (we are not afraid).
According to a statement by the mall, the protest was co-ordinated to gain the attention of municipal bosses.
“There was no damage to property and the crowd was dispersed.”
Members of the committee then met Johnson, De Lille, her deputy, Noxolo Kiviet, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and human settlements deputy minister Pamela Tshwete at a boardroom inside the Baywest Mall.
However, during this meeting, other business owners kept hitting the sliding doors of the boardroom demanding that their three members be released.
The committee has warned for weeks that municipal projects would be shut down by disgruntled SMMEs as they can no longer be controlled.
The SMME owners have met various municipal roleplayers to air their frustration.
A few months ago, payment to the Sicelo Kubashe Black Consulting Group (SKBC), an implementing agent hired to facilitate and allocate projects to SMMEs in the metro’s 60 wards, was halted, resulting in hundreds of small business owners converging on the City Hall on November 24 to demand the consultant be paid.
The SMMEs also want SKBC — which is facing a forensic investigation into alleged gross financial misconduct — to be appointed again.
Johnson said the SMME owners said that it was a peaceful protest outside the depot during the meeting
“We told them that we can’t instruct the police to release them [arrested members] but that if they did not do anything we can phone the commissioner [Major-General Nomthetheleli Lillian Mene].”
The arrested members were soon seen at the Baywest Mall.
Naidu said they were released after they went to court but the cases were not enrolled.
On Monday, Mashelele wrote to Johnson demanding that the municipality reinstate SKBC.
“The closure of municipal projects and depots will also include the closure of all municipal events including the [Ironman African Championship] next month as that event is also in partnership with the municipality and SKBC already had a meeting that there will be full participation of SMMEs in that event,” he said.
The committee’s deputy chair, Lindile Bobani, who sat in the meeting with Johnson, said they were not happy with how their members were arrested.
“They were handpicked during a peaceful protest.”
Mashelele said they had called off the shutdown.
“We are going to see what will happen but what happened at the Baywest Mall helped.
“I see a solution to this,” he said.
Committee chair Glen Tsomo said they had closed customer care centres, councillors’ offices and depots.
“However, they agreed that they would meet with the mayor, acting city manager [Noxolo Nqwazi] and political heads to sign the letters to be delivered to the provincial and national Cogta offices for intervention.”
HeraldLIVE
De Lille dragged into fiery Nelson Mandela Bay SMME saga
Image: WERNER HILLS
After disrupting work at councillors’ offices, a municipal depot and customer care centres across Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday, the Local Business Committee has called off its threat to shut down municipal projects until it sits down with mayor Eugene Johnson on Wednesday.
The committee, along with Johnson, will write letters to the provincial and national offices of the co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) departments to intervene in the stand-off.
The business owners have taken issue with the slow progress in incorporating them into various construction projects around the metro.
After gathering early at the New Law Courts in North End, the group of emerging micro-enterprises owners headed to the municipality’s Harrower Road depot where about 60 of them blocked off the road.
Public Order Policing arrived and used stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Three people were arrested — including the committee’s secretary-general, Masixole Mashelele — for public violence.
They were later released without charge.
After being dispersed by the police, the group split up, with a large contingent heading to the Mount Road police station and another to the Baywest Mall.
At the time, public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille was busy with an oversight visit to the N2 nodal development project, which includes the Baywest Mall.
At the mall, the small business owners forced open the Ster-Kinekor gates while singing asinalo uvalo (we are not afraid).
According to a statement by the mall, the protest was co-ordinated to gain the attention of municipal bosses.
“There was no damage to property and the crowd was dispersed.”
Members of the committee then met Johnson, De Lille, her deputy, Noxolo Kiviet, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and human settlements deputy minister Pamela Tshwete at a boardroom inside the Baywest Mall.
However, during this meeting, other business owners kept hitting the sliding doors of the boardroom demanding that their three members be released.
The committee has warned for weeks that municipal projects would be shut down by disgruntled SMMEs as they can no longer be controlled.
The SMME owners have met various municipal roleplayers to air their frustration.
A few months ago, payment to the Sicelo Kubashe Black Consulting Group (SKBC), an implementing agent hired to facilitate and allocate projects to SMMEs in the metro’s 60 wards, was halted, resulting in hundreds of small business owners converging on the City Hall on November 24 to demand the consultant be paid.
The SMMEs also want SKBC — which is facing a forensic investigation into alleged gross financial misconduct — to be appointed again.
Johnson said the SMME owners said that it was a peaceful protest outside the depot during the meeting
“We told them that we can’t instruct the police to release them [arrested members] but that if they did not do anything we can phone the commissioner [Major-General Nomthetheleli Lillian Mene].”
The arrested members were soon seen at the Baywest Mall.
Naidu said they were released after they went to court but the cases were not enrolled.
On Monday, Mashelele wrote to Johnson demanding that the municipality reinstate SKBC.
“The closure of municipal projects and depots will also include the closure of all municipal events including the [Ironman African Championship] next month as that event is also in partnership with the municipality and SKBC already had a meeting that there will be full participation of SMMEs in that event,” he said.
The committee’s deputy chair, Lindile Bobani, who sat in the meeting with Johnson, said they were not happy with how their members were arrested.
“They were handpicked during a peaceful protest.”
Mashelele said they had called off the shutdown.
“We are going to see what will happen but what happened at the Baywest Mall helped.
“I see a solution to this,” he said.
Committee chair Glen Tsomo said they had closed customer care centres, councillors’ offices and depots.
“However, they agreed that they would meet with the mayor, acting city manager [Noxolo Nqwazi] and political heads to sign the letters to be delivered to the provincial and national Cogta offices for intervention.”
HeraldLIVE
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