According to the City the assistance offered to these businesses forms part of the municipality’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Fund. Mayoral spokesperson, Mluleki Mntungwa said this group of 100 is the first to receive funding of the 700 successful applicants.
“The fund was established to bring relief to businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Processes to assist the other successful applicants is underway and will be finalised soon. The beneficiaries are across all sectors, including spaza shops, salons, retail and flea market, catering, construction, cooperatives, and agribusiness,” said Mntungwa.
Handing over the cheques to the beneficiaries, eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda said, “This is a great initiative by the municipality to bring much-needed relief to small businesses that were adversely affected by the pandemic.”
Mayor Kaunda said the small business sector made a significant contribution to the gross domestic product.
“This intervention was important as the nationwide lockdown has had a devastating impact on businesses in the city. This resulted in the loss of approximately R34 billion across all sectors of the economy. An estimated 6 000 companies were forced to close down, resulting in over 300 000 job losses.”
He said eThekwini was the first metro in the country to develop an economic recovery plan to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
Nandos Pine Crest officially opens again
Nandos Pine Crest hosted it official opening on Monday, September 20.
he store was closed along with all other shops at Pine Crest Centre following the looting. The centre has served the community of Pinetown for nearly 30 years. It opened in the late 1980s to become the first shopping centre in the town and it is still the biggest retail centre in the Pinetown CBD.
Of the 123 shops at the centre, just over 40 have since opened their doors. The reconstruction started in August and management officials said the centre is expected to be fully operational in two to three months, before the festive season.
To mark the special ceremony, there was an unveiling of an iconic painting by artist Nkoali Nawa. Nawa said the charcoal art piece was inspired by the recent unrest.
“By this painting, I hope to bring back light into our people’s lives.” Nkoali said there is always light at the end of the tunnel. “I just implemented my experience as a mine worker and I brought light out of the darkness,” he said.
Nandos KZN general manager, Peet Opperman revealed that 18 restaurants were looted in the province.
“Two outlets had to be shut permanently. We will be opening two more this year, the last one being the Bridge City Nandos in 18 months time,” he said.
After the looting, Opperman said they had to close all of the restaurants for 10 days to assess the situation. He said the staff were terrified that they would lose their jobs.
“We are happy that our staff still have jobs as many people were left unemployed.” He added that this experience has made the brand stronger and reminded them to always look at the positive side. “What does not kill you makes you stronger,” said Opperman.
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