GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Graaff-Reinet's Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) say they are at their wits' end about Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality's failure to finalise the process of establishing a Local Economic Development (LED) Community Forum.

Insight into economic affairs

According to Johnny Swartz, chairperson of the Camdeboo Community Development Forum, the forum intends to have insight into the municipality's economic affairs such as the allocation of tenders and the resultant employment opportunities emanating from the municipality's LED office. 

The first meeting to this end was in July but, according to Swartz, the forum could not be established, primarily because the municipal manager and his directors were not present and also because there were too many differences of opinion about the functioning of the forum.

For this reason, those in attendance requested a postponement and the acting LED officer, Zanele Kubashe, undertook to organise a follow-up meeting within two weeks. 

She also undertook to ensure the attendance of the MM and directors. To date this has not happened.

Several attempts to meet

Swartz says several attempts have since been made to secure this meeting but to no avail. 

"Despite many promises, the meeting has still not taken place," he says. "I believe this is done to prevent us from obtaining important financial information."

However, Kubashe says the municipality cannot move forward with the establishment of the forum as they are still awaiting relevant information.

Established committees need to join

"There are established committees in Graaff-Reinet that need to form part of this forum. These committees are listed in the terms of reference that was discussed during the first meeting," Kubashe explains. 

"The respective committees were requested to elect representatives to serve on the forum and submit their details but none of them adhered to the request. 

"The follow-up meeting was scheduled to take place in October but in the absence of the requested details it was impossible to proceed since the terms of reference must be signed by both the municipality and these representatives."

Swartz says they never received any terms of reference. "I've never heard of this before," he says.

In the meantime, discontent with the way tenders are awarded in Graaff-Reinet and other towns within the Dr Beyers Naudé Municipal area persists. SMMEs remain hopeful that a forum of this nature will eventually be established to address tender-related issues.

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