Business chamber hopes for a productive year

The Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EGCCI) held its AGM on Thursday evening at the Riverside Country Estate in Grootvaly.
The meeting saw the election of a new president and the presentation of awards to businesses that have worked with the chamber for decades.
Ekurhuleni Finance and Economic Development MMC Graham Gersbach was in attendance and delivered a speech on behalf of Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell.
Other dignitaries included Ashor Sarupen MP (DA constituency head for Springs, Nigel and Brakpan), Ekurhuleni MMC of Corporate and Shared Services Ruhan Robinson, Alderman Shadow Shabangu, as well as several CEOs and general managers of local businesses.
During his address, outgoing EGCCI president Mike du Toit said 2020 and 2021 were two very challenging years for the chamber.

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“2020 was one of the toughest years we ever faced, and sadly 2021 was more of the same with two more waves of Covid and a state of emergency.
“The economy continued to struggle, making things very difficult for institutions such as ours, as businesses were being forced to make brutal budget cuts to remain in business,” said du Toit.
Eskom and load-shedding only added to their woes.
“Whilst we had an agreement in Springs regarding the protection of industry from load-shedding, industry was shocked with a sudden electricity cut on May 31, 2021, when Eskom arbitrarily and without notice decided to punish the City of Ekurhuleni for not meeting load-shedding targets,” he added.
Pravin Naidoo, who was the chamber’s vice-president, was elected as the incoming president.
He was congratulated by du Toit, who now holds the title of immediate past president and shall retain his links with the chamber.

“I intend being the voice of industry and commerce on our council. As you will all be aware, I have embarked on a new career in politics.
“I will also be working to make the business voice louder in the corridors of power so that we do not live through another economic disaster as we have experienced over the last 10 years,” said du Toit.
Gersbach said the mayor looks forward to working with the chamber and coming up with solutions to address service delivery issues and other issues.
“The City of Ekurhuleni is home to many world-class companies. When the multi-party coalition government assumed office in November last year, we formulated a common purpose that will guide us over the next five years,” said Gersbach.

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“By getting the basics right, we believe that we can create a suitable business environment that attracts investment and entrepreneurs to our city. We can achieve this by going back to basics and creating a culture of accountability, transparency and good governance.
“We want to eliminate the politics of patronage, nepotism and self-enrichment in the City of Ekurhuleni.”
He said they look forward to a lot of engagements to try and improve the City and one of our tasks is to end youth unemployment.
“Our goal is to maintain cash reserves while still delivering services, and we will be getting rid of all vanity projects. I and my team look forward to meeting with you all regularly,” said Gersbach on Campbell’s behalf.
The evening concluded with the following businesses receiving longstanding membership awards:
• Twenty years: Peter Miller and Associates, and Plastic Bubbles.
• Bronze Award (30 years): Diesel Electric Industrial Springs, Ekurhuleni East TVET College, and ProSafe Protection Products.
• Forty years: Beaver Management, and Nampak Bevcan.
• Diamond Award (60 years): Ivan Davies Hammerschlag Incorporated.