MEC invests in Kouga businesses

PHOTO CAPTION:

MEC for Rural and Agrarian Reform Zoleka Capa (fifth right) was joined by Kouga Executive Mayor Booi Koerat, portfolio councillor Phumzile Oliphant, ward councillors and municipal LED officials at the hand-over. With them at the brick-making machine were  Do it Well members Pamela Ngquwe (second right), Ayanda Madwara (third right) and Sive Qengqeleka (centre).

MEC invests in Kouga businesses

THREE Kouga community projects received a major boost when Rural and Agrarian Reform MEC Zoleka Capa handed them state-of-the-art equipment for their operations on Monday, January 21.

At the event, held at the Humansdorp Country Club, Jeffreys Bay brick-makers Do
It Well received two brick-making machinery while sewing groups Laphum’ilanga from Humansdorp and Hankey’s Uzuko Lwethu each got sewing machines.

The intervention follows visits to the various projects by the Eastern Cape Legislature portfolio committees, accompanied by Kouga officials, during the Taking Legislature to the People programme last year.

Capa said people must make use of opportunities that government presented them and they should make use of the Local Economic Development in the municipality for information on how to access government departments for economic opportunities.

“We don’t want this machinery to become furniture. That is why we are first going to focus on training of participants in order for them to be truly productive and self-sustaining,” she said.

Capa added that her department and the municipality were going to facilitate a
process of finding markets for the projects in order to ensure sustainability.

“We cannot be dictated to by external monopolies. We must ensure that we keep some money circulating in our area to boost the local economy,” she concluded.

Some of the possible areas were the supply of bricks for the construction of RDP houses in Kouga and supply of linen to the health facilities in Kouga.

Members of the projects will be trained in various skills, including, business administration and management. The equipment, worth more than R1 million, will
remain the property of government until project members have completed their
training.

LED portfolio councillor Phumzile Oliphant said the municipality was inspired by the gesture of the MEC and invited the public to register their cooperatives with the municipality.

“We also want to commit here that we will push towards an audit of all land belonging to the municipality in order to tap into the agricultural opportunities as presented by the MEC here,” he said.