IN a bid to revive Kouga’s economy, the Kouga Business Forum, together with the Kouga Local Municipality, are in the process of reviewing and expanding on the Local Economic Development (LED) strategy plan by involving local businesses to drive economic growth in the region.
According to Dries du Preez, vice-chairman of the Kouga Business Forum, it was important for the private sector to get the Kouga region on track for economic growth.
To develop business opportunities in the region and in turn grow the economy, he said it was important to identify and rectify the challenges and bottlenecks which hindered investment opportunities, align the municipality’s budget with identified key-business development sectors, prepare role players to develop a marketable investment platform for the Kouga area and drive the implementation of the LED strategy plan on an ongoing basis.
“People are not looking to bring big investments to the Kouga region, and we need to figure out why and how to change this,” said Du Preez. “We need to establish a Strategic Economic Growth Plan to ensure economic growth which in turn will ensure job creation.”
To refine the LED strategy plan and widen the scope of investigation, Du Preez said they had recently met with Professor Doctor Emil Nothnagel, an independent consultant who had successfully assisted in reviving at least 31 municipalities in the Western Cape and more than 150 other municipalities and organisations in South Africa.
“This project will evaluate and work on plans for all sectors of the community which include tourism, the business sector, industrialisation, the fishing industry, construction, agriculture and SMMEs. The consultants will establish workshops with the role players in all these sectors to understand their problems, frustrations and successes to formulate the growth plans,” said Du Preez.
“We want to be able to investigate the problems faced by the community, from big businesses to the guy on the street selling goods, and work towards finding solutions.”
He said the plans that will be implemented needed to be simple and would be adjusted annually.
“Due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, many people in the area are feeling hopeless and we need to work together to find solutions for a better future in the region,” said du Preez.
He said to complete the project, the Kouga Business Forum needed to raise R 450 000 to cover the consulting fees. “We plead with all businesses to pledge their contributions to this very important project,” said Du Preez.
For more info contact Dries du Preez on 082 659 2655 or email office@kougabusinessforum.com.
