More put up their hands for Jozi@Work
20-10-2014
Opportunities under Jozi@Work – a City of Johannesburg’s mayoral initiative to address unemployment, poverty and inequality – could start opening up as early as January or February next year, Dumisani Hlatshwayo of The Business Place, an SMME advisory agency working in partnership with the City, said at the Naledi Hall in Naledi, Soweto, on Monday October 20.
Hundreds of Soweto residents packed the hall for a briefing on how to register their small businesses or cooperatives in readiness for Jozi@Work opportunities.
Responding to a question from the floor, Hlatshwayo said should everything go according to plan, the registration process for Jozi@Work would be finalised in December this year, shortly after which work could begin
The City is collaborating with The Business Place to provide a free registration service to would-be small business operators and members of cooperatives who want to tap into the opportunities that Jozi@Work, an empowerment and job creation programme of its kind in South Africa, would bring about.
The programme seeks to create an opportunity for cooperatives at community level to take over the City’s service delivery responsibilities, including refuse removal, grass-cutting, greening and landscaping initiatives, building and maintenance of roads, assisting City Power customers with electricity-related issues, cleaning and management of facilities, to name a few.
The City has in its 2014-2015 Budget made available more than R1 billion for cooperatives and small businesses delivering services across nine different areas of work under the programme. This will increase to more than R3 billion in the 2016-2017 financial year.
Hlatshwayo encouraged members of the audience not to let this golden opportunity to slip through their fingers.
“If you can dream it, you can do it,” he said, quoting Walt Disney.
“But the problem with many of us is that we want instant success. Jozi@Work is not about that. It’s a step by step opportunity in the right direction. It’s really up to you whether you want to take it. It’s about what kind of legacy you want to leave your children,” Hlatshwayo said.
He said at this stage it was not necessary for would-be applicants to submit their company profiles or tax clearance certificates.
Hlatshwayo added that residents with already legally registered business entities did not need to register. Their names were instead recorded on a separate list.