If Leicester City can beat odds of 5000-1 to win the toughest football league in the world, Dundee can outshine and put bigger centres to shame when it comes to economic growth.
Using the football analogy (it’s a bit like Chippa United winning the PSL here or the Sunwolves the Super Rugby competition), Andrzej Kiepiela, who co-ordinates the KZN Growth Coalition on behalf of the KZN Premier, said one way to kick-start a ‘think-tank’ for local business, was to re-start a Chamber of Business. He was addressing the first ever Mayoral Business Engagement on Friday evening, attended by some invited business representatives, Councillors and members of the tourism and agricultural sectors.
“This will have the support of the Premier and the province will even consider funding as long as it is non-political. Local business must consider the area’s strengths which are battlefields tourism, agriculture, mining and geographical location. The regeneration of small towns is critical to the KZN government and now is the time where Government wants to listen to business for the sake of everyone.”

Mr Kiepiela said by working with top business executives in the province huge projects like the building of King Shaka Airport and the International Convention Centre, Durban, had been made possible.
“Listen to critics and bring them on board. After all, you all live here and everyone benefits if the town grows. Crumbling infrastructure is not unique to Dundee – let’s reach consensus on what can be done to change things.”
“Where are the local shopkeepers?”
Earlier, Mayor Richard Mbatha said he was concerned that ‘only foreign-owned shops seemed to be opening and progressing in Dundee’ and wanted to know why are locals not involved in business.

“I see this forum as a way of exchanging ideas to listen to local business and what we can do collectively to take the economy forward and rescue all those who are languishing in poverty.” He added that Council wanted to create the right conditions to create an environment that would encourage businesses to grow. A business opportunity cited by the Mayor was the building of a residential complex for the thousands of students at Majuba College.
Ajay Singh, representing the Asikhule Youth Forum, told delegates he was ‘disgusted by the state of the central business district where one cannot walk on the pavements because of vendors, the shambolic infrastructure and the dirt’.
“Let’s get these vendors formalised so it can be an attraction rather than a hindrance. Our youth feel marginalised as the unemployment rate is well over 25%.”
Naresh Gopie of Tourism Dundee said rather than criticising tourism (for being exclusive) that directly and indirectly generates in excess of R70-million a year for the local economy, ‘critics should come on board and join our voluntary committee’.
“It is concerning visiting the Newcastle Mall. It is like going to Dundee or Glencoe because there are so many locals doing their shopping there. Why? We are losing millions of Rands to Newcastle. Let’s make it happen here. Why do people prefer to shop out of town? Let’s ask them.
“Tourism Dundee can give advice to anyone wanting to open a B and B or anyone wanting to get involved in the industry that generates a staggering 9% of the world’s GDP.”

Thulani Ndlovu, Endumeni Municipality’s Local Economic Development Manager, with Nikita Budgen, personal assistant to Naresh Gopie of Tourism Dundee. Left: Andrzej Kiepiela, who co-ordinates the KZN Growth Coalition on behalf of the KZN Premier, with Mayor S Richard Mbatha.

Mr Gopie also commented on the hundreds of people who travel evevery dayrom out of town to work in Dundee as commuters.
“Why can’t business employ local people? Are our people not skilled? Maybe Majuba College should look at what courses they are offering that are possibly not relevant to what the job market requires.”
In his address, Kevern Mattison, general manager of Buffalo Coal, said he fully supported the concept of renewing the Chamber of Business that was disbanded some years ago because of a lack of interest.
“Buffalo employs about 1 000 people and our monthly salary bill is over R10-million. This is quite an impact on both the Endumeni and Dannhauser areas. There are many business opportunities because of the stringent BBBEE rules governing mining which says we are only allowed to procure goods from black owned business. This is difficult in our area when it comes to procuring mining engineering supplies so there is an opportunity there.”
He said there ‘were tremendous expectations from the community when it comes to jobs’.

“Unfortunately we cannot employ everyone. We need to find people with the right skills and want to engage with the municipality to create the right business conditions. We want to solve the coal truck route issue and believe we will. The mine has expansion plans which will be put in place by 2022.
“We welcome this initiative by the Mayor and his team and also plead that sports facilities like the Oval should also be upgraded as sport is so important. There are so many successful sports stars who come from small towns. Let’s look after what we have.”
Senzo Ntombela, a Newcastle-based consultant who runs the Municipality’s Local Economic Development Technical Support Initiative, hosted the meeting and he too commented on the ‘crumbling state of Dundee’s roads’.
Boxer Mpontshane, manager of Planning and Economic Development Services, said this was ‘only the first of many planned meetings with local business as the municipality seeks to forge a partnership with big and small business to promote economic development.”
Maybe Dundee will still do a Leicester and surprise the bookies…