Alex’s Galxcoc urges govt to walk the talk
ALEXANDRA – Chamber urges its affiliates to ensure inclusivity in the ownership of the trading space.
The Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed its dismay at the failure of government to walk the talk on the compensation of business owners of shops vandalised during the recent looting.
Chamber head of the Youth Cluster Mpho Baloyi, the driver of the project, confirmed that a number of their members had been approved for funding but said up until now the government was yet to fulfil the compensation promises it made to those affected by the looting.
“As I speak to you now, the government has not released even a penny of the funding promised towards the #LetsRebuildSA. Most of our members who were approved under the scheme, especially the Beer Hall in Alex’s 1st Avenue, were later ordered to obtain loans to rebuild their businesses.
“This is in stark contrast to the promises made soon after the looting and this is so frustrating for our members as they think the government is now going back on its promise to compensate them for the destruction,” Baloyi said.
Asked what the way forward was under the circumstances, Baloyi said they would keep the pressure on the authorities to make good on their promises. “There is not much we can do as an advocacy group but just to keep pressure on the authorities in the hope they realise the errors of their ways.”
Going forward, Baloyi said the chamber was advising some of their affiliate shop owners to ensure inclusivity of the local residents regarding ownership, employment and service providers.
“We would like to see the employment of a majority of people from Alex and some of the trading spaces being owned by people from Alex, including those that provide support services as well. “In this way, people in Alexandra are not just reduced to consumers of goods and services but become part and parcel of the stakeholders in business and will protect the business at all costs, such as shown at Alex Mall and Maponya Mall in Soweto.”
Baloyi’s sentiments were echoed by Alex historian Thabo Mopasi, who suggested that the Pan Africa Mall Junction, an investment of the then Alexandra Renewal Project, called for the restructuring of the project so it could benefit the ordinary people in the township through a share scheme and add ownership in the people’s hands so they can protect the investment.
