The Makana United Business Chamber (MUBC) got off to a wobbly start on Thursday 15 August amid controversy about whether some parties were excluded from making important decisions.
The Makana United Business Chamber (MUBC) got off to a wobbly start on Thursday 15 August amid controversy about whether some parties were excluded from making important decisions.
MUBC consists of two local organisations, Grahamstown Business Forum and the Makana Development Business Forum, as well as the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc). Nafcoc's inclusion comes as a surprise, since its involvement has been problematic.
Nafcoc regional chairperson Albert Adam claimed his organisation had been strategically excluded in the beginning. MUBC says they walked away voluntarily. Adam was particularly unhappy that Makana Development Business Forum chairperson Lungile Mxube would double as the chair of the MUBC.
Nafcoc says they were not present at the meeting when this was decided.
“All I can say is walala wasala (you snooze, you lose),” Makana Municipality ’s Local Economic Development (LED) Director, Riana Meiring, said. “There were invitations [to meetings]all along.” Meiring explained that the MUBC was established so that local businesses could have a united forum where they could communicate with the municipality.
“The MUBC doesn’t take over any other business forum and it is not an umbrella society,” she said. According to the memorandum of understanding agreed upon at City Hall yesterday, the business chamber will be recognised as he only legitimate representative of organised business in Makana.
“The public should be able to know exactly what their municipality is doing,” Mxube said. “Therefore, we will be holding (the municipality) accountable by capping wasteful expenditure and they will have to justify the organising of parties and bashes, etc.”
