EASTERN Cape municipalities were failing the province and bringing down business’ chances of beating the downward economic trend, organised business said.
In a frank speech, the re-elected president of the 785-member Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB), Gordon Thompson, compared South Africa to a “V8 running on three cylinders”.
“The Eastern Cape just plods along, practically oblivious to the rest of South Africa, never mind the world. The upside is that we can only improve,” he said.
“Our municipalities are letting us down badly. There are some really good people in our municipalities who work a full day, but unfortunately, there are a few who cause our municipalities to fail.”
Thompson warned that Buffalo City’s auto manufacturing sector was about to enter an “ugly” period of wage negotiations.
“We have heard that the unions will expect 20%, and nothing short of 15%. S ome workers are already sporting T-shirts with 20% printed in a large font.
“Smaller industries are expecting and planning for a three-week strike.”
Some gains had been made in forging relations with four mayoral committees through the chamber’s adopt-a-municipality project, he said, but Lukhanji municipality had “consistently cold- shouldered our hand of collaboration and cooperation and they are falling apart”.
Relations with the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) mayoral committee had improved after municipal manger Andile Fani was brought in, especially in implementing plans for the Clean City Campaign.
But Thompson said progress was still too slow. Speaking with Fani in the audience, he said: “The metro is in a mess.
“It’ s embarrassing to host potential investors in our dirty city.”
Meanwhile, Buffalo City faced a major shortage of places in schools for the children of potential industrial investors, saying the chamber was lobbying from local to ministerial level to ensure good schooling for these children “of which there are many”.
He refuted BCM’s claim that an active tourism office existed, saying the city and province had not had a tourism and marketing brand for some years.
Had BCM’s tourism office been functioning properly, there would not have been the congestion of seven large sporting events held on one weekend.
He criticised the roadworks on the N2 for slowing down Gonubie- East London traffic, saying: “Why are they working on four sections at once? Why not just focus on one section at a time?”
He heaped praise on the MEC for economic development, environmental affairs and tourism, Mcebisi Jonas, for “lobbying tirelessly” to bring capital development to the city port and supporting the Buy Eastern Cape project.
The buy-local project had the “unintended consequence” of exposing fraudulent and corrupt civil servants doing business with government.
He said other Chamber projects – the schools’ greening project, 4good leadership project, The Green Desk, the corporate social investment team, and use of the Siyakhana Health Trust to screen company employees, were all doing good work.
He said the 146-year-old chamber, the sixth largest in South Africa, remained a vibrant lobby group, and would continue to raise the voice of business in as many social forums as possible. —
Municipalities ‘failing EC’
In a frank speech, the re-elected president of the 785-member Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB), Gordon Thompson, compared South Africa to a “V8 running on three cylinders”.
“The Eastern Cape just plods along, practically oblivious to the rest of South Africa, never mind the world. The upside is that we can only improve,” he said.
“Our municipalities are letting us down badly. There are some really good people in our municipalities who work a full day, but unfortunately, there are a few who cause our municipalities to fail.”
Thompson warned that Buffalo City’s auto manufacturing sector was about to enter an “ugly” period of wage negotiations.
“We have heard that the unions will expect 20%, and nothing short of 15%. S ome workers are already sporting T-shirts with 20% printed in a large font.
“Smaller industries are expecting and planning for a three-week strike.”
Some gains had been made in forging relations with four mayoral committees through the chamber’s adopt-a-municipality project, he said, but Lukhanji municipality had “consistently cold- shouldered our hand of collaboration and cooperation and they are falling apart”.
Relations with the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) mayoral committee had improved after municipal manger Andile Fani was brought in, especially in implementing plans for the Clean City Campaign.
But Thompson said progress was still too slow. Speaking with Fani in the audience, he said: “The metro is in a mess.
“It’ s embarrassing to host potential investors in our dirty city.”
Meanwhile, Buffalo City faced a major shortage of places in schools for the children of potential industrial investors, saying the chamber was lobbying from local to ministerial level to ensure good schooling for these children “of which there are many”.
He refuted BCM’s claim that an active tourism office existed, saying the city and province had not had a tourism and marketing brand for some years.
Had BCM’s tourism office been functioning properly, there would not have been the congestion of seven large sporting events held on one weekend.
He criticised the roadworks on the N2 for slowing down Gonubie- East London traffic, saying: “Why are they working on four sections at once? Why not just focus on one section at a time?”
He heaped praise on the MEC for economic development, environmental affairs and tourism, Mcebisi Jonas, for “lobbying tirelessly” to bring capital development to the city port and supporting the Buy Eastern Cape project.
The buy-local project had the “unintended consequence” of exposing fraudulent and corrupt civil servants doing business with government.
He said other Chamber projects – the schools’ greening project, 4good leadership project, The Green Desk, the corporate social investment team, and use of the Siyakhana Health Trust to screen company employees, were all doing good work.
He said the 146-year-old chamber, the sixth largest in South Africa, remained a vibrant lobby group, and would continue to raise the voice of business in as many social forums as possible. —
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