THABETHE WARNS ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS AGAINST FALSE AGENTS

THABETHE WARNS ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS AGAINST FALSE AGENTS

By BRIAN KAJENGO

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe has cautioned the community of Ixopo against false agents that overcharge them for relatively affordable services offered by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) and its agencies. She was addressing more than six hundred aspirant entrepreneurs who attended the “Taking the dti to the People” outreach campaign hosted in partnership with the Ubuhlebezwe Local Municipality yesterday.

“It is a known fact that the dti is based in Pretoria and has only a few provincial offices, but that is no reason for the exploitation of our people by the so-called agents that claim to represent the department. One of the dti agencies, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) has offices in all of the country’s nine provinces. Accessing services from these institutions is the same as being served by the dti,” she said.

She added that members of the community must engage Community Development Workers (CDWs) as they have the knowledge to channel them to the relevant agencies that would satisfy their needs.

Thabethe urged community members to interrogate the so-called agents that roam their communities exploiting them.

“When these imposters come into your communities interrogate them, demand that they produce their identification cards. We cannot be having instances where people are charged more than R8 000 just to register a company. It’s unfair and illegal,” she added.

The Mayor of Ubuhlebezwe Local Municipality Councillor David Nxumalo expressed his municipality’s commitment to assisting the dti render services in Ixopo.

“It is humbling and worth the wait to have the dti deliver its message to our community. I wish to see the relationship forged with this community today grow in leaps and bounds, and I do assure the dti that we are here at your disposal,” said Nxumalo.

The “Taking the dti to the People” campaign seeks to strengthen government’s commitment to empowering peri-urban communities to accelerate job creation and sustainable economic development in the country. The outreach also aims to create awareness about support products and services offered by the dti and its agencies to Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs).