Empowerment fund helps local entrepreneurs

EKURHULENI’s community empowerment projects have lifted off to increase procurement opportunities for a targeted group of local entrepreneurs. The allocation of the money to various projects was explained at Ekurhuleni’s press club meeting on February 26 at the Kempton Civic Centre.

The project is uplifting the local youth, women and people living with disabilities by making them part of the Mintirho ya vulavula project.

The aims of the project are also to develop a segmented local supplier database, identify commodities and services for local strategic sourcing and ensuring that procurement transactions and appointments are in line with local economic transformation and development targets.

The project includes a youth enterprise empowerment package of R1-billion and is allocated as follows: R345.6-million was allocated to the refurbishment and repairs of council buildings and other facilities such as cemeteries. The remaining R654-m was allocated to the delivery and supply of water tankers, plumbing and drainage services as well as the unblocking and repair of sewer pipelines. Each contractor received a project worth R9.6-m.

“If we look at the project as one, the community can see that we are using local entrepreneurs to benefit from the project, such as the youth, women and disabled people,” said Clr Moses Makwakwa, PR councillor at the City of Ekurhuleni.

There is also a leaner contractor project that allocated R500-million towards the final shortlisting of the candidates. The 150 candidates who scored an average of more than 50 per cent was shortlisted whereof 63 are women 85 are youth and 87 are men.

“The objectives of these various projects are to build township economy through supporting local suppliers and to create jobs to reduce unemployment and poverty within our city,” said Makwakwa.