Members of the Ward 55 Socio-Economic Forum recently marched to the Coca-Cola Plant in Booysens, protesting what they claim is a lack of transparency and inclusiveness in the company’s procurement practices.

The forum, accompanied by other community members, gathered early at Claremont Square on October 27.

The TMPD and SAPS accompanied the marchers to the Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa’s (CCBSA) site.

With a memorandum of demands in tow, over a hundred residents passed through residential streets, singing struggle songs and demanding employment opportunities.

Chairperson of the forum Kabelo Pelusa said the community held the march because for the past eight to nine months, they have not been in frequent communication with CCBSA, despite having a constructive working relationship prior.

“We tried connecting with them. Before, we had a person with whom we engaged, but unfortunately, for the past eight to nine months, things have not been going the way we would have liked them to.

“They’ve stopped everything regarding hiring people from our community. Our community has a lot of concerns, and we want to address them to make sure there’s a good resolution and that the community benefits from this plant that is in Ward 55,” Pelusa said.

Pelusa said neither local SMMEs (small, micro and medium enterprises) nor residents receive employment opportunities from the plant and that the lack of communication is unfair.

Referring to the December 2023 launch of the community centre in the Gomora Informal Settlement – also known as ‘Cokeville’ or the Melusi Youth Development Organisation (MYDO) centre – Pelusa said the forum was not given full details. The exact figures spent on the hub’s opening and the borehole that followed were not provided.

“I believe we’ve been working with them peacefully, no marches or anything, we’ve had sit-downs with them, and we hope the same thing can happen.

“We want to sit down with them and resolve our issues in the forum because we are the ones who align with them regarding community issues,” Pelusa said.

The forum’s treasurer, Mosima Mabitsela, said the community is fed up with the mistreatment from CCBSA and accused the plant of giving job opportunities to workers outside the ward, the city and even the province.

“They are hiring people who we don’t know came from where. They are hiring people outside of Gauteng and foreigners, while our children who have passed matric, sit at home and make signs standing on the roads looking for jobs.

“Coca-Cola must listen to us, all residents from Ward 1, from Eskia Mphahlele to Kameeldrift, that we are residents here. We are the ones who need to pay rates, and when they take away jobs from the community, what are we supposed to pay the municipality with?

“They are really hurting the community; it’s not right. We want them to work with us and stop recruiting outside the community when there are workers here,” Mabitsela said.

Mabitsela added that they are never consulted regarding new contracts in the area, and accused CCBSA of hiring from other areas with their own plants.

In the memorandum, some of the concerns and demands were exclusions from hobs, internships, SMME opportunities, and exclusions from bursary opportunities.

They also want an investigation into the hub funds, ‘Cokeville’ and December tournament funding, particularly increased funding for the tournament.

They demand that the hub be completely handed over to the forum, that they receive a list of all construction projects managed by CCBSA in the area, and that they get preference for permanent employment opportunities.

They also want stationery for the back-to-school campaign that was allegedly purchased but not distributed.

Also on their list was the relocation of the current plant’s management due to ‘undermining’ community leadership.

“We believe that if Coca-Cola is a national brand, it should prioritise opportunities and benefits for the communities where its plants are located.

“We request that CCBSA take immediate action to address these concerns. Until our requests are met, we will continue to hold peaceful marches to bring attention to these issues,” the memorandum read.

Site management at the plant accepted and signed the memorandum on behalf of CCBSA, though they refused to comment at the time of publishing.

The plant has been given seven days to respond to the demands.

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