The City of Joburg is hosting a series of roadshows to provide the public with information about a R1-billion programme aiming to create business opportunities for Joburg residents.
The Jozi@Work programme is set to empower Joburg residents, particularly the unemployed and disenfranchised, by providing them with employment and business opportunities within the city council’s service delivery activities.
Through the programme, the city council will contract the services of existing and newly-formed community level co-operatives and enterprises across nine different sectors including water, waste, energy, green services, maintenance and construction, agriculture, business and support, roads and transport, and digital services and marketing.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative, city council manager Trevor Fowler said through this initiative, an estimated 1 750 new and existing enterprises at community level would take over the responsibilities of service delivery across the city.
According to Fowler, these stakeholders would be involved in the city council’s service delivery activities including the separation and recycling at dump sites, providing food to its urban nutrition programmes, de-sludging chemical toilets, resurfacing and maintaining roads, and providing frontline support to the city’s water and power infrastructure.
The city council had developed a new supply chain process in consultation with the National Treasury, through which it would source community-based enterprises and co-operatives using a network of regional bidders’ briefings – also known as regional Jozi@work forums.
According to the city council, the roadshow will be held in regions in Joburg from 11 August to 30 September.
The first public information roadshows will be held in Region A on 11 August at Diepsloot Youth Hall, Ingonyama Drive, from 1pm to 3:30pm and Halfway House Primary School, Van Heerden Street, Halfway Gardens, from 6pm to 8:30pm.
Further roadshows will take place at Marks Park Bowls Clubhouse, Judith Road on 14 August from 6pm to 8pm, Norscott Manor Recreation Centre on 18 August from 5pm to 7pm, and the Braamfontein Recreation Centre (Leo & Gemini Room) on 21 August from 9am to 12pm.
Details of all the roadshows are available on the city council’s website.
