By Palesa Mofoti
The Sol Plaatje municipality on Tuesday opened yet another small business operator’s centre made up of refurbished cargo containers at the Galeshewe Open Air Arena in a ceremony which was presided over by executive mayor Kagiso Sonyoni.
Mpho Mojakwe, Marigold Moalahi, Letlhogonolo Veronica Leshobane, Tshiamo Modise and Mariah Kompe are among the beneficiaries of the project named the Galeshewe Active Box Informal Traders Hub.
According to mayor Sonyoni, the Active Box program has transformed Galeshewe into a safe, sustainable, gender responsive environment for female traders.
The purpose of the Active Boxes was to create an environment for local, small female owned businesses to thrive, to promote these businesses and to create economic development within the township.
Nomonde Kesiamang executive director for Strategic Economic Development and Planning at Sol Plaatje Municipality said five locations had initially been identified, these were the Phatsimang College precinct and the Hulana park area. However, the next best location was the Open Air-Arena.
The concept of the Galeshewe Active Box Informal Traders Hub began in 2016, when the South African government adopted the Integrated Urban Development Framework policy. This policy was aimed at identifying challenges faced by people living in urban areas, particularly those in the underprivileged areas of the urban centres.
This policy also encourages collaboration from various stakeholders to come up with solutions in solving problems that are faced by communities in these urban areas.
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Sol Plaatje Municipality, German Cooperation, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Inclusive Violence and Crime Prevention (VCP), Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading (VPUU), Galeshewe Youth Network Cities Challenge 2.0, and Safer Places Resilient Institution and Neighbourhoods Together (SPRINT) and Canada were key role players who oversaw the successful implementation of this project.
The municipality also won the Giz Cities Challenge grant that will be deployed in building vibrant neighbourhoods in urban areas, Kesiamang said.
Veronica Letlhogonolo Leshobane, the owner of Flexis Cafe said: ‘The opportunity provided by Sol Plaatje here is a great one, I am in a central place (at the Arena) and it provides me with more working opportunities unlike when I was working at home doing only takeaways. I can already see my mission growing into the next five years. I am not going to end here. This is to bigger and better”.
Mpho Mojakwe, who is in the food industry business said: ‘I honestly feel quite excited because this means that poverty is out of the way. It has given me hope”.
Tshiamo Modise said: ‘I am very excited and very grateful to the Sol Plaatje municipality LED division. This means expansion for me. It means growth. It means my life will no longer be the same because a new income will be coming in and I can do more. So I am excited for this opportunity, I get to provide safe quality drinking water for our community”.
Mariah Kompe, a veteran in the local food industry said: ‘I am very elated to have been given this box after thirty years of selling food on the streets being rained on with heavy winds blowing my things away. I’ve been knocking on the municipality’s door for a stall where they were always given to foreign nationals. I am very happy because my business will grow and I have shelter and a safer place for my business”.
Thapelo Matlala Sol Municipal Manager said: “We hope that the women will take care of these containers. As for local businesses I request that you show your utmost support for these small businesses. It gives our township character”
Comments are closed.