Partnership brings a roundtable discussion for local businesses

The Disoufeng Pub and Grill in Meadowlands Zone 10 hosted a roundtable discussion on business.

The aim was to put township-based small businesses together where speakers from the business sector and politics were present.

National, provincial and local government officials were present to hear about the hurdles small township businesses face and their needs.

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Toby Chance, an MPL and the DA constituency head, said, “The point of the roundtable is to have a conversation about businesses. As we know, the DA is about enterprise development; that is why they are here, too.”

He said this is Meadowlands’ first attempt to reach out to business owners and create an open and fair society with opportunities for small and big businesses.

Dr Mamokete Modibe, a senior researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory and a guest speaker, highlighted township-based businesses’ opportunities and challenges.

“There is a high rate of unemployment and special miss-merge, which means those from townships go work for suburb-based businesses,” said Modibe.

She added that the government is trying to bring economic opportunities and support to township businesses to ensure they create employment opportunities for locals in those businesses.

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Bekizizwe Masuku of Zani Building Construction said he hopes to see all their challenges attended to.

“We have had challenges as SMMEs from government agencies and hope we get help with this.

“We also do not want to be referred to as SMMEs forever because we need growth in our businesses, but that cannot happen if there is nothing tangible and our cries go unheard,” said Masuku.

The Q&A session saw challenges like funding and access to space raised by the business owners, who are the backbone of township communities and have a chance to create employment for the youth and their communities.

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Jane Sithole, the deputy minister of Small Business Development, said she comes from a township and grew up seeing small businesses like shops selling food, so she understands these business owners’ dedication and struggles.

“If the government does not support small businesses, there is no growth for them. We need to realise that these township businesses add to our GDP,” said Sithole.

She tasked herself with visiting the government agencies responsible for supporting small businesses because the owners complained about their complacency.

She explained that the action plan is to review all the regulations impeding businesses from thriving.