Empangeni business must lobby for change

EMPANGENI businesses must speak out against poor service delivery and lobby for vital infrastructure to ensure the future survival of the town’s commercial sector.

This was the consensus at the Annual General Meeting of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI), Empangeni Division, on Wednesday, which also saw the election of new leadership.

Members re-elected seasoned business and community representatives Mike Patterson as Chairman of the division, supported by Vice Chairman Dave Whittaker.

Mapping out the role of the division for the year ahead, members said it was important to keep the Empangeni division operational and for meetings to take place as per schedule.

Last year meetings had to be postponed for unknown reasons.

‘Five months without a meeting is detrimental to business,’ said Patterson.

‘Empangeni has unique issues which need a different approach, such as the ailing infrastructure and backlog of essential services as the municipality’s focus has been on other areas over the past few years. At meetings last year, members had asked for issues such as the bus rank, toilets, illegal car washers, traffic flow and general infrastructure upgrade to be addressed with the municipality.’

In the Chairman’s report, Patterson said the failure of the municipality to enforce bylaws was a major concern affecting local business, families, residents, customers and visitors to the area.

‘The upper bus rank has more than 20 000 commuters daily (our staff and customers) and the upgrade is many years overdue. The need for a truck stop to prevent the illegal parking of heavy vehicles in the rail area is long overdue and these are just a few of the challenges that our members believe this Chamber should address,’ added Patterson.

As a businessman and resident of Empangeni, who is directly concerned with the poor state of the town, Patterson said he was ready for the challenge of completing a second term of office.

‘I realise that this is not a popular decision as there was pressure on me to resign today. I believe the Chamber needs to be more active in the interests of its members and will ensure that this is addressed at the highest level.’