The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC) have agreed to strengthen their relations in order to ensure that continued inroads are made in economic transformation and development of black-owned businesses in the Bay.
The new regional executive of NAFCOC met with the Chairperson of the Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture Standing Committee, Cllr Anne-Marie Van Jaarsveld, and other committee members last week to introduce themselves in order to continue from where the former leadership left off.
Led by NAFCOC President, Mnyamezeli Dyala, the NAFCOC leadership was introduced to the Portfolio Committee and the Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture Directorate team who they will work with on an ongoing basis.
At the centre of discussions was the development of black-owned businesses in the Bay especially in tourism, retail and other key growth sectors. The current platforms in which NAFCOC is expected to continue adding value are the Tourism and Investment Forum and Trade Point, the multi-stakeholder initiative that assists small businesses to enter export markets. NAFCOC is already a member of the Steering Committee of Trade Point, together with the Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Municipality, the Exporter’s Club, the Eastern Cape Development Agency and the Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The new leaders were also informed about the operations of development institutions such as the Mandela Bay Development Agency, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, Uitenhage and Despatch Development Initiative and Red Location Museum.
“Given its historical role as a representative of black business, NAFCOC is an important stakeholder in our continued efforts to create a developmental local state with a focus on economic transformation. So we are confident that, working together, we will continue to make inroads in the dynamics of the local economy in order to change the business landscape and address historical imbalances,” said Cllr. Van Jaarsveld.
“We are going to meet more frequently going forward to improve our co-operation and communication. There are clear deliverables we have agreed on and we are going to focus on achieving them, while NAFCOC also addresses its institutional weaknesses,” said Cllr Van Jaarsveld.
NMB Communications
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