ANC in Tshwane strangling job creation initiatives: DA

Published Aug 20, 2017

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Pretoria - The Democratic Alliance on Sunday accused an African National Congress councillor of excluding non-ANC members from job creation initiatives in the City of Tshwane.  

 

The provincially managed Winterveld Enterprise Hub and the Mabopane Thusong Centre in Tshwane were adding little value to the lives of residents of the communities in which they were situated, as they were either completely dysfunctional or plagued by "ANC crony forces that exclude non-party members from making use of these facilities", DA Gauteng MPL Adriana Randall said. 

The Winterveld Enterprise Hub was established to support the informal automotive sector with the intention of training and developing the youth through the assistance of the Automotive Investment Development Centre (AIDC). However, despite the hub being open, it was not completely operational due to business instability.

"Worryingly the local ANC ward councillor in the area has taken it upon himself to 'run' the hub, making space only for those entrepreneurs that he deems fit from his ward. Earlier this year this led to clashes with community members who expressed dissatisfaction with the antics of the councillor. This matter has been reported by the DA to the chief whip of Tshwane as this hub is not for the sole use of ANC members, but for the benefit of all residents of the community," she said.

Hollard, who had committed to partnering with the hub, also backed out of the partnership due to the uncertain nature of the hub’s business model.

Similarly, the Mabopane Thusong Centre was equally dysfunctional. The offices to the centre were situated in an obscure location with absolutely no signage to indicate that a Thusong centre was located there.

While there were servers in place, which had been supplied by the Gauteng department of e-government, there were no computers in place to offer services to the community which the centre was supposed to serve.

"What is abundantly clear is that this administration likes to talk a good game, but when it comes to implementation the substance is lacking. As part of its transformation, modernisation, and re-industrialisation agenda, sites such as these should be invaluable to kick-starting the province’s economy and creating self-sufficient entrepreneurs.

"Unfortunately it is clear that this ANC-led administration has no tangible plans to assist the thousands of unemployed residents of Gauteng," Randall said.

African News Agency

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