‘Fake SMME’ forums in Ward 82 & 69 to be investigated
"We want equal workmanship."
Residents of Ward 82 and Ward 69 had a march to the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) offices in Newtown on April 3. The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) approved the legal march planned by community leaders and legitimate Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME’s) from our community.
About a hundred residents took to the streets to march against the ongoing corruption on the projects by JDA in the region as well as governance and the ‘fake forums’.
Millions of rands are invested into the upgrade of our areas by projects from the City of Joburg but only a few are benefitting from it.
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“The unemployed and the youth are being deprived by individuals who corrupt projects with COJ officials and these are the very same people who call themselves community leaders,” said Shahiem Ismail who was one of the role players in organising this march.
The residents and SMME’s marched from the Market Theatre in Bree Street all the way to the JDA offices in Henry Nxumalo Street, Newton, where a memorandum was handed over to the MMC of Development Planning, Councillor Reuben Masango.
The highlighted projected thus far was the upgrade of Union Stadium, Claremont Clinic, NMT Phase 3 and 4 as well as the stormwater project phase 1B.
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“The outcome that we as SMME’s want from this is that justice is served to all stakeholders. It’s not just the benefit as a business owner to get something from the City but to empower the people around us which is our unemployed youth.
“If we can’t make a difference then what’s the use of us. We want to build our communities in the correct manner, we want quality workmanship because once these contractors we still have to live in this community,” said SMME, Merlin Thomas.
Leslie Fortuin, a resident of the community said that he is amazed at how these projects are handed over to our communities. He said that the City does not hand it over correctly.
“There’s no job creation, I can show you that at the Union Stadium, vandalism took place.
“This is because they did not create job opportunities for our people, there are no securities and at the end of the day we don’t see the development happening in our community, yet millions have been spent.”
The agreement with Cllr Masango was that JDA will meet with organisers of the march and SMME’s after seven days.
