Public works and infrastructure minister Sihle Zikalala has condemned the disruption of an event which took place at a women in construction meeting in North West on Tuesday.
Zikalala attended the event at the invitation of the North West chapter of the Black Business Council in the Built Environment (BBCBE), as part of taking the department to various provinces.
The event was attended by entities which fall under Zikalala’s portfolio to engage women entrepreneurs who asked to be helped on programmes to enable them to take advantage of opportunities in the construction and infrastructure sector.
As the session commenced, a group of angry protesters stormed the venue.
The protesters demanded that one of the panellists, the chairperson of the North West chapter of the BBCBE, who was sitting next to the Zikalala, be removed. They claimed he did not represent them and alleged he had swindled them out of money.
The security detail of Zikalala reacted to protect the guests as they were not aware of who the group was nor their intentions.
“While the minister will not be drawn into internal ructions of the council, it believes that it is inexcusable to deprive the many women who had converged at the event an opportunity to benefit from information and knowledge that would have assisted their businesses,” the department said.
It said Zikalala has been leading the programme of economic inclusion within the construction and built environment sectors, especially focusing on women and youth.
Zikalala urged all the aggrieved parties to resolve their internal differences.
The police managed to calm down the situation.
TimesLIVE
