Johannesburg - A Soweto woodworker has taken offence at the statements by government officials accusing South Africans of being a lazy bunch whenever there is an outbreak of xenophobic violence.
Lundi Ndzuta says he can’t understand why politicians accuse locals of idleness while state entities such as the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) are “useless and corrupt organs” failing in their mandate to develop and support small businesses.
He has repeatedly approached the NYDA to help him develop his business Lundi Woodcraft and he has spoken to the NEF for possible funding, without success.
To draw the attention of politicians, Ndzuta made personalised artworks for the likes of President Jacob Zuma, his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa and former arts and culture minister Paul Mashatile. He gave them the works.
Although he does not blame these officials for failing to develop his business, he says:
“It was annoying hearing (Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) Obed Bapela accusing us South Africans of being a bunch of lazy people.
That is disrespectful be-cause I believe there are many South Africans working hard to do things for ourselves.”
Ndzuta showed The Star letters from Zuma and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela praising his work as well as a newspaper clipping showing he was a finalist in the Johnnie Walker Nation’s Greatest Awards in 2013 in the Greatest Inventor Category.
Bapela recently slammed South Africans, saying they were too dependent on handouts. “Jobs that are shunned by South Africans, such as mining, farming and jobs in the hospitality industry, are being given to foreigners, who are prepared to work hard.
“South Africans do not want to get their hands dirty and rely on the government to provide them with free houses and free schooling,” he had said.
Bapela was echoing statements made by Zuma in March.
“Before they accuse us of laziness, they should first think about fixing the mess at the NYDA and NEF,” said Ndzuta.
Recounting the problems he encountered trying to get help from the NYDA, Ndzuta said he first approached the organisation in 2009 to help him develop his business.
“The NYDA gave me a voucher and referred me to a service provider called Mackie Sign-A-Rama, in Illovo, to help me design a logo and a letterhead and create a website for my business.
“They said I only had to pay 10 percent of the package and the NYDA would pay the rest.
“After two months, the website stopped working. When I went to the service provider, I found they had closed shop and were nowhere to be found.
“I went to the NYDA, but they told me to find the service provider myself. Where the hell do I find the service provider myself - they are the ones who hired them.”
Ndzuta said he approached the NEF for further assistance and to check if they could help him with funding, but never received any feedback.
“I approached the NEF around the same time they gave (businesswoman) Khanyi Dhlomo-Mkhize a loan. There are many of us trying to do things for ourselves, but unless you are connected to some government officials, you won’t get any help.”
NYDA spokesman Siya-bonga Magadla said a business plan voucher was approved for Ndzuta on January 12, 2011 and assigned to the service pro-vider, Momentum Management Consultants.
“The NYDA paid the full value of the voucher (R10 000),” Magadla said.
NEF spokesman Moemise Motsepe said the organisation did not have a record of Ndzuta’s application for funding but emphasised that any request was determined on merit.
The Star