Nocci Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sharon Steyn says the pandemic, load-shedding, and everything in-between has brought local businesses to their knees. The chamber now wishes to gain insight into the daily struggles of tax-paying entrepreneurs running businesses in Kimberley when service delivery is lacking. She says the hope is that they will use the responses to engage the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality via the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) to find solutions not just for businesses but the public as well. Sharon weighs in on what the issue of service delivery is like in other parts of the Northern Cape.

Steyn is of the view that Upington – under the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality – is doing much better than Kimberley from a service delivery perspective. Steyn says it’s interesting because in her view the two places are governed by the same government, so she doesn’t understand what’s wrong with Kimberley in that regard. It’s this question that Nocci seeks to answer via its survey.

The survey can be accessed via a link on the Nocci Facebook page.

Most recently the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) launched a probe into Kimberley’s reported water constraints after receiving complaints. Senior legal officer at the SAHRC, Anthony Wyngaard, confirmed they had received responses from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Sol Plaatje Municipality in that regard.

Wyngaard promised they would share these responses with complainants before deciding on whether the shortages constitute a human rights violation. Much like Steyn, the SAHRC is concerned about the impact that this has on the vulnerable – children in schools, the elderly in old age homes, and the sick in hospitals amongst others.

OFM News