Today marks a huge milestone for businesses in the Struandale area with the official establishment of an association which is set to assist the group to collaborate in addressing common issues affecting their geographic area.
This is an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber which over the last year has facilitated the creation of geographic clusters in Perseverance, Deal Party, Kariega, North End and Struandale.
This is now the second geographic cluster to adopt a more formal approach, following the Perseverance Cluster’s establishment of their Business Association which already has an action-orientated strategy in place that focuses on key priorities and how these would be achieved.
Over the past few years, businesses have been grappling with various service delivery challenges, which have led business owners in Struandale to identify ways of maintaining and upgrading the standard of infrastructure and facilities in the vicinity in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
There is a general commitment by business owners to take appropriate measures aimed at securing and facilitating the sustainable upgrading and maintenance of Struandale with one of their main initiatives being the adoption of a substation in the form of providing 24-hour security so that businesses are not affected by power outages as a result of vandalism in the form of cable theft.
To achieve the above, the parties have agreed to establish a voluntary association to represent the needs, interests and views of the participating industries and businesses.
To this end, the signed agreement serves as a foundational document and constitution for all relevant businesses and industries in Struandale with a key objective of seeking to minimise and eradicate the common challenges relating to electricity supply, water shortages, safety and security, illegal dumping and road maintenance.
“This is an important milestone for businesses in the area as this provides a streamlined platform where they can effectively raise common issues in unison, instead of working in silos. But more importantly, this is another positive step forward in progressing and entrenching the Chamber’s geographical clusters which have been positioned to proactively collaborate on a practical level to address operational problems in their area or sector,” says Denise van Huyssteen, Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
“Given the challenges in our operating environment, we anticipate that the number of geographic clusters in the metro will continue to increase in 2023. Through strong leadership, collaboration and mobilisation of collective resources, it is possible to develop and implement solutions which help to create an enabling environment in which business can operate.”
Cluster Chairperson Angus Clark says: “Today has been an important day where the business community in the Struandale area large and small has come together as a collective group. We all face a common objective and that is to improve conditions in our area to support the ease of doing business.
“Infrastructure being a key element in our planning. In these areas how do we as business assist in protecting our municipal assets to ensure reliability and quality of supply. An important success of the cluster is communication. A group communication has been set up where we have a common communication platform. The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber is a key catalyst where up to date and reliable information is shared with the members where we can make informed decisions. We are still finding our feet and positive that this group will be able to make an impact on the Struandale cluster area. I look forward to the future engagement with all parties. Identifying where we can make an impact and providing solutions.”
