delivery
17 APRIL 2009
Local government is very critical to anything that government is embarking
on. This was said by the Minister of Trade and Industry (the dti), Mandisi
Mpahlwa. He was speaking at the official launch of the ninth Small Enterprise
Development Agency (Seda) district office in the Eastern Cape. The event took
place on Friday, 17 April 2009, at Mount Ayliff, in the Alfred Nzo District
Municipality.
Minister Mpahlwa said it is important to strengthen local government as it
is the backbone of governmentâs delivery.
âEven the strategies and policies that are developed at national level will
find expression at local government. So it becomes very important to us to
strengthen local government so that it is able to deliver. Everything for it to
be really effective it needs to have the participation of local government,â
said Mpahlwa. He said that if municipalities are weak it will be difficult for
Small, Medium Micro-Economic (SMMEâs) to develop.
The Minister also praised the Alfred Nzo District Municipality for making
the building available for Seda. The office which is a one stop service aims to
provide the surrounding communities with business opportunities and linkages
for small enterprises, and establish partnerships in small enterprise
development and support.
The following services will be rendered:
* Business registration
* Business planning
* Access to markets
* Access to financial support
* Support of co-operatives
* Training and mentoring
* Access to technology.
As part of the dayâs programme, the Alfred Nzo District Municipality and
Seda jointly hosted a business summit. The summit focused on promoting business
awareness within the municipality, broaden the skills base and build capacity
of the business community.
Speaking at the summit, the newly appointed Seda CEO, Ms Hlonela Lupuwana
emphasised the importance of strengthening the relationship between Seda and
the municipalities. Lupuwana said this will go a long in developing and
nurturing small enterprises.
She mentioned that her priority as the CEO will mainly focus on service
delivery.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Cell: 073 522 6801
Tsholofelo Kgole
Cell: 082 345 4823
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
17 April 2009
