Mail & Guardian reporter
Business is booming in the informal settlement of Nomzamo in Somerset West, where shops and small businesses are thriving from a rewarding partnership with the city of Cape Town.
The community is hard at work on a project to build supermarket premises to complement the 13 shops and six container shops already up and running.
All labour is sourced from the community local builders, carpenters and bricklayers formed the Nomzamo Builders Trust three years ago. The project got a kick-start through a R1,7-million injection from the city of Cape Town.
The city has contributed R912 000 for the fourth and final stage the building of the 225m2 supermarket premises and the community is optimistic that the anchor tenant will be a well-known name in small supermarkets. There is also provision for an open trading area in the complex.
The Post Office and Eskom have indicated that they will be renting space in some of the hives, and an opportunity exists for a bank. The spirit of Nomzamo is captured by Grace Hoboshe, who runs her dressmaking business from a container. She trains other women to make dresses and presents them with a certificate when they have completed her course. This helps them find employment or start a business of their own.
Kent Morkel, Cape Town city’s executive councillor for economic development, tourism and property management, says the key to Nomzamo’s success is the spirit of partnership that has evolved over the years with the council.
“The council recognises that future economic development and job creation largely depend on encouraging entrepreneurship in all our communities,” he says. “The council identifies those projects that have the potential to teach people to help themselves, and then we help with training, infrastructure and funding where possible.”