Mayor reaches out to disgruntled Vereeniging business cooperative
Following a media buzz by the Vereeniging Business Cooperation (VBC) to boycott paying of services to the municipality, the Emfuleni Local Municipality Mayoral Committee convened a meeting with the cooperative to find an amicable solution.
VANDERBIJLPARK – The meeting followed a threat by the group of businesses to withhold payments of rates and taxes over faltering service delivery and collapsing infrastructure. The move came after Eskom obtained a court order to attach about R1.8 billion worth of the embattled municipality’s assets amid unpaid debt.
Mayor Sipho Radebe, together with his team convened a meeting on Wednesday at Emerald in Vanderbijlpark to find a civil solution on the grievances of the business people.
Whilst the leadership of the municipality has accepted to be facing a number of challenges, the mayor encouraged the business leaders to consider exhausting alternative channels and avoid a media confrontation with the municipality.
According to the Mayoral Spokesman Mphikeleli Msibi, both the municipality and cooperation acknowledged the relationship should have been long established.
“A mutual call for enhancing the relationship among the organisations through the establishment of the Stakeholder Forum for both business and Civil Society was made and agreed to unanimously.
The meeting has established a Priority Team which will report to the Executive Mayor periodically.,” he said.
Msibi added that the team among others will develop a process plan that will ultimately lead to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the MOU.
“The Executive Mayor concluded the meeting with appreciation to the leadership of business under the VBC. He further committed the municipality to present a more comprehensive response that will include the Memorandum of Understanding conclusion,” he said.
