The Ekurhuleni metro’s MMC for Infrastructure Services Robert Mashego has told the captains of industry at the City Meets Business engagement that the City has ring-fenced R12 billion to procure from 2 000 local entrepreneurs.
The meeting was held at Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Boksburg, April 12.
Mashego said while this was to ensure that Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) in Ekurhuleni reposition themselves as capable and preferred service providers to government, the metro is mindful of the reality that many companies experience bottlenecks in surviving the business market.
“This is because of some government supply chain processes not being business friendly. This is a problem since in business time is money,” he said.
He said in acknowledgment of that fact, plans are underway to establish a Central Investment Clearing Committee that will assist business owners on matters of compliance when they want to make investments.
“This will assist them not to be sent from pillar to post in a manner that consumes time,” Mashego said.
“The committee is envisioned to reduce the turnaround times in the matters that require approval such as land zoning, building applications and bulk infrastructure services.”
Reacting to this, the chairman of the South African Shanghai Chamber of Commerce Jacky Li said this will give investors more confidence to do business in Ekurhuleni.
The City Meets Business engagement is held every quarter where the city and its officials engage the business fraternity on investment opportunities and give feedback on how the city plans to deal with the processes that frustrate the business sector.
