DURBAN - A march is being planned at the World Economic Forum Africa meeting in Durban next week.
This was announced by Desmond D’Sa on Thursday at the People’s Economic Forum being held at the Durban University of Technology.
The people’s forum aims to create an inclusive, people-friendly space for people to learn and share information.
This includes providing solutions for economic and financial inclusion.
D’Sa said the WEF, which would include some of the biggest businessmen on the continent, would not have ordinary people’s interests at heart.
“We are not here to play games. We are not here to accept the WEFThe WEF is about big money and big profits,” he said.
But it was not only big international companies he took aim at. D’Sa lamented the lack of job opportunities that were created by shopping malls locally.
He said they often had stores that imported goods.
Encouraging small businesses like spaza shops was the way to go because they created employment and encouraged people to buy local.
Meanwhile, small businesses in the Clairwood area lived in fear of the industrialisation of the area and port developments.
This was revealed in research done last year by Karen Read, who shared some of her findings on Thursday.
She said although people welcomed economic development, this should not come at the expense of losing their businesses, which have been in their families for generations.
Read said 24% of the businesses in the area had existed for more than 20 years.
It was not only businesses that have deep roots in the area; many homes in the area were more than 100 years old.
“Clairwood is Durban’s District Six,” said Read.
She said it was one of the first places where indentured labourers had bought land. “Industrialisation of the area has led to it being neglected.
“It’s very rundown,” she said, adding that it had also resulted in pollution in the area.
The only way this could be dealt with was for the municipality to enforce its by-laws, she said. All hope was not lost though, as there was a small but determined group of people fighting for the area to be improved, Read said.
The people’s forum will continue until May 3, when they march to the WEF forum.