I recently had the opportunity to attend and address an event hosted by the KwaXolo Business Forum. I was struck by a few things at this engagement.

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Firstly, on my way to the venue I was impressed by the extent of non-retail commercial activity in the township and surrounding area. There was activity in the building supply (aluminium manufacturing), motor (panel beating and tyres) and IT (internet cafes, business services) sectors.

Flourishing

While these enterprises would be considered ‘basic’ when compared to their peers in the established CBDs, it was evident that they were fulfilling a market need that they had identified. Clearly local authorities and provincial government departments are missing a golden opportunity in their quest to develop township and rural economies: if they concentrated on capacitating these existing businesses to modernise and up-scale their operations by providing the finance and training required, they would be well on the way to achieving their goals.

Instead, they appear to favour greenfields or ‘pet projects’ that often have no relevance to local market requirements. Enabling local residents to procure services they traditionally get in the CBDs, will have a major impact on the area by preventing ‘leakage’ and enhancing the circular flow of money within it.

Sophistication

Secondly, the range of topics covered and the opportunities presented were an eye-opener. There were presentations on the aviation and logistics industries, mining, and tourism, which proves that the appetite and sophistication of the rural economies goes beyond abattoirs and chicken farms. They have the capacity and willingness to begin participating in higher value economic activities.

The opportunities and benefits of revitalising township and rural economies are enormous. What is required is a concerted and well-designed intervention by the responsible authorities.

Thirdly, and on a slightly negative note, I was dismayed by the condition of the community hall where the event was held. There was no electricity because the distribution box and cable had been vandalised and stolen, and sections of the ceiling had caved in. The grassed areas around the hall were overgrown and unkempt.

Win-win

To be fair, blame has to be apportioned to both the municipality and to the local community who allow the destruction of hard-earned infrastructure. Again, I pondered on a possible win-win solution for all parties: if the municipality outsourced the upkeep and management of such facilities to local community-based service providers, would that not lead to a greater sense of ownership and care among local residents?

After matriculating, Vijay Naidoo studied Economics in the UK. Upon his return, hejoined the family construction business as MD for 10 years.

He subsequently joined his sister in their furniture manufacturing business as director for quality assurance and operations. He was responsible for all quality aspects of their products, and led the project to the business achieving an ISO 9000 quality accreditation. As an export focused business, this was important for our international competitiveness.

Mr Naidoo has an abiding interest in quality management and productivity improvement, particularly in manufacturing.

More recently, he has focused a lot of his time on giving back to the community by way of mentorship of small businesses and sitting on the executive of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the Board of the Ugu South Coast Development Agency.

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