By Luvuyo Mjekula
Frustrated small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) owners who feel excluded from construction contracts took their anger out on the Makana Municipality council on Thursday.
A group of small business owners entered the Settlers Monument restaurant, the venue for the municipality’s special council meeting yesterday. The meeting was moved to the monument apparently due to renovations at City Hall.
As they trickled into the room, the protesters toyi-toyied and sang the struggle song “Sohlala siyinyova le Apartheid (we will always trample Apartheid)”, to the dismay of members of council.
Council Speaker Mabhuti Matyumza had to adjourn the meeting temporarily.
He called on the group to show respect to the council and its rules. “Can you at least respect this council because its decorum must not be compromised by the fact that there are people coming in here. This is a council meeting. It is not just a meeting in the council. It has got rules which apply also to members of the public.”
Matyumza told the protestors to explain themselves. “I am lost. What is happening? We are sitting in a council meeting and those who understand the procedure of the council understand that you cannot just come and disrupt a council meeting. We have just adjourned the meeting. What do you want from the councillors?” he asked.
In response, a member of the group said SMME’s in Makhanda were unhappy. He went on to explain that before heading to the monument, the group had disrupted a tender briefing that was supposed to sit at 10am in Makhanda. He said a motion was put forward to disrupt the briefing. After the briefing was put off, the group made a call to discuss their own issues in a “charged meeting”. That was when a special request was made for the mayor to join the meeting. However, the group learned the mayor was attending a council meeting and took a decision to go to the monument to find her.
According to the protestors, local SMMEs as service providers do not get empowered and miss out on many business opportunities. A Makhanda resident who commented on Grocott’s Mail’s Facebook page on Thursday, provided some context. He said the project briefing scheduled for Thursday and was disrupted, was about the upgrade and paving of Makana Way in Makhanda. He said problem was that the advertised tender called for a grade 6 contractor. “The issue is why grade 6 and not break projects up into smaller packages so SMEs from Makhanda, some of who have done paving work before, can benefit? Not one business or SME has grade 6 in Makhanda.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that local SMMEs are scheduled to meet today (Friday) to try and find solutions to the ongoing saga.
