The interim CEO of Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ, Solly Kgopong, has dismissed claims by the Steelpoort SMMEs that there are companies that get more than one project while others are being sidelined.
Last week, the “sidelined” SMMEs representative Sharon Dikotope told Sunday World that they were going to stop the project, accusing the project’s directors of ignoring their grievances.
Dismissing the allegations, Kgopong said it is not true that the company, which is presently at the site by the name of Afriboa, hails from Gauteng.
“That Afriboa is from Gauteng is a blatant lie because they are one of the SMMEs from this area; even its directors are from around Sekhukhune. The people who are making these stories up just want to paint this project badly.
“Second, the company has been awarded one contract, which is the installation of a fence and the building of guardhouses and the gate,” explained Kgopong, citing that he will be meeting all the SMMEs in the area on Friday to address the matter.
Bid process to be followed
Kgopong said they, together with the local municipality, are in the process of building a database of suppliers.
“Obviously there are going to be so many contracts ahead of which all the SMMEs are set to benefit, but we will, of course, follow a competitive bid process in terms of the requirements. We will also ensure that local communities benefit.
“In the next three years, we are going to roll out bulk infrastructure, which includes water, sewerage, roads, ICT, and electricity, and they obviously stand to benefit in terms of subcontracting and other benefits that come with this infrastructure.
“We understand their frustrations, but they need to exercise patience and avoid bad people who want to use them to direct this project to be theirs.”
He continued: “But at the same time, they also need to understand that as much as most local people are going to benefit from this project, it is not everyone who is going to be hired because, at the end of the day, we are spreading the cake wider so that this SEZ grows in the district of Sekhukhune.”
Allegations labelled misleading
Also condemning Steelpoort SMMEs is Elias Tshukudu, the chairperson of the Steelpoort-Ngwabe Procurement and Recruitment Forum, who has described Steelpoort SMMEs’ claims as misleading and damaging.
“As one of the local organisations that are recognised by our local municipality, I can confirm allegations that Afroboa is a local company owned by one of our locals whom we know very well,” said Tshukudu.
“We therefore condemn those allegations that the company is from Gauteng. We are, however, concerned that we are still failing to understand what this SEZ is.
“We also want to know where the directors of this project come from and what kind of businesses they have for us in place because we are afraid that we might find ourselves not benefitting while other companies that are not from our area and not recognised locally are benefitting ahead of us.
We have learnt the hard way
Pressed for comment, Sharon Dikotope, who made the allegations in a story previously published by Sunday World, was unmoved.
”There is a lot going on under the carpet in this project, and we want to tackle issues from these early stages so that we can have a clear understanding as to what is going on because we have learnt the hard way from the previous mining projects where we were sold some dummies,” said Dikotope.
“We have witnessed companies from outside our area enriching themselves with our minerals while we remain their slave workers who, in the end, remain with nothing while they have taken away their resources.
“We will wait for the meeting on Friday, as Kgopong has claimed that he will be meeting us, and we will take it from there.”
