What business wants out of local government elections

25 July 2016 - 17:27 By Penwell Dlamini

The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has outlined key issues which it believes must be addressed by local governments after the August 3 elections.Alan Mukoki‚ CEO of Sacci‚ the country’s biggest business chamber representing 20‚000 businesses‚ outlined the problems that small‚ medium and big business face when dealing with municipalities across the country.Topping the issues was the responsiveness of municipalities to the needs of business. In various interactions with government‚ Sacci has raised the issue of quick response and bureaucracy in the municipal system which restrains growth of business.Maimane urges South Africans to honour Mandela’s dreamThe organisation even tagged it “red carpet and not red tape”.“It takes a while to get things done at local government. People are not as proactive as they ought to be. There are too many layers. When a business person wants something from the city they are referred to a number of people before that problem is resolved‚” Mukoki said.He said while businesses waited for rezoning of houses for business‚ cities across the country loss revenue which could be coming from those businesses.When a company buys a property in a residential area for business‚ the property has to be rezoned for the owner to pay business rates. As businesses await this‚ sometimes for a very long time‚ they cannot trade and therefore the cities cannot not make money out of the business activity‚ Mukoki said.Another thorny issue raised by the chamber was informal trading. Currently there is a Constitutional order against the City of Johannesburg preventing it from removing informal traders from the streets.We didn’t tell our members to vote ANC – NFPMukoki said informal trade was part of the mix of an inclusive economy but it should no be done to the detriment of other businesses.“We have members who own retail shops in cities like Johannesburg but are affected by informal traders who are outside the doorstep. The informal traders do not have facilities. Things are thrown and make the place unpalatable. People can’t even walk into the shops. No one is saying we don’t need informal traders but we are saying that they should be in a designated area.”Sacci also wants local government to be responsive in maintaining infrastructure and ensuring that the environment in which business trade is clean.Mukoki is hard on cities that do not use their budget calling for them to be punished.“That money is standing in a way of jobs. That is the money that could have built a clinic or fixed sewerage.”Sacci is also unhappy with the quality of work that is done by companies contracted by municipalities.He also called for local government to have an open tender system‚ which allows the public to see why a particular company secured the contract with the municipality.Other contentious issues that business complained about were the inconsistencies in the increase of rates and taxis.“Business does not know how they [municipalities] arrive at a particular percentage of increase. We need to have a level of transparency so that people know ahead and can plan properly‚” Mukoki said.Sacci wants municipalities to provide better internet connectivity which will enable businesses to perform at their peak.“You have to lay down the fibre optic cables all over the place…If you put Wifi‚ it must be free Wifi that works‚” he said.Mokoki advised local governments to address the root causes of poor service delivery and reduce their dependence on consultants.“The question is: are you going to hire the right people or the average people and rely on consultants to do the work? It seems with government it is acceptable to pay money to consultants but it not acceptable to hire the right people and pay them well‚” Mukoki said.He also urged municipalities to share their experiences to allow lessons learned from one municipality to be shared by all...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.