Small businesses hit hard by metro cutting catering tenders
“Our plea to the mayor would be for the council to consider trimming rather than completely cutting off.”
Catering service providers are devastated after the Tshwane metro announced on Thursday they were cutting off catering services to save money.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams said during a media briefing the metro stopped all catering and purchasing of foods for meetings or any formal engagements as a measure to save the metro as it is in a “financial crisis’’.
Small business managers said this decision would cause their businesses to suffer while having no assurance they would be able to keep employees on as they depended on the metro for survival.
One of the small business owners that previously offered catering services to the metro, Mosima Sithole said the cut-off would see many people lose work and their families suffering.
“Rendering services to them it meant we could feed our families, keep roofs over our heads and make sure that the lights are on.
“For our communities, employees and their families, this decision is just devastating. I personally, alongside 14 of my employees, will find it hard to survive as one of our main source of revenue has been cut off,’’ she said.
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Sithole said the metro used their services almost every week, be it meeting or training sessions which contributed positively to the businesses.
“We had the lockdown and council was dissolved, both of these events were bad enough for the catering business and now it’s the cut-off of catering services which feels like a big rock on our heads.
“When council resumed we saw it as hope that our businesses would pick up again,” Sithole said.
“I don’t even know how I will move forward from this.’’
“Our plea to the mayor would be for the council to consider trimming rather than completely cutting off – for instance, the metro could request for one or two meals a day instead of the three for the long-length meetings.
“This plea is merely for the survival of our business because at this rate the SMMEs are dying.”
Another metro catering service provider, Junia Seanne, said “businesses were already on shaky grounds and the cut-off was a huge blow”.
“Firstly, we have not been paid after we served food to the homeless during the Covid-19 peak.
“We are appealing to the council to reconsider. The services are the breadline for our businesses and our families.
“I have about 150 people that rely on it but with not being paid and with the further cut-offs I will be pushed to let some people go. About 50 more businesses will be affected by this decision,’’ she said.
“People risked their lives working during the Covid-19 outbreak. We have lost some of our members and struggled to bury them because of having no money.”
A preliminary report found that the metro had a deficit of R4.4-billion accumulated in three months while under the leadership of the administrators.
Tshwane metro mayor Randall Williams said, “I believe the metro needs to live within its means. The metro needs to recover its finances”
“When you run a business there are always risks and at this point, I cannot allow the risk of the metro running bankrupt.’’
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