Jobs and SMMEs

e) EFF Municipalities on Jobs and SMMEs

The EFF recognises that municipalities possess significant potential to absorb labour, create employment, and promote local economic development while building internal capacity to deliver services efficiently. EFF municipalities will use this potential to create jobs, reduce unemployment, strengthen municipal capacity, and promote inclusive local economic growth.

EFF municipalities will:

1. Insource security, cleaning, waste collection, maintenance, and other core municipal services to create permanent jobs .

2. Establish municipal artisan units for plumbing, electrical work, road maintenance, construction, and infrastructure repairs, with a focus on employing women, youth, and local residents.

3. Implement municipal apprenticeship, internship, and skills development programmes linked to service delivery, infrastructure, and maintenance projects to create new jobs.

4. Build strong local economies by supporting SMMEs, cooperatives, township enterprises, and informal traders through procurement opportunities, business support, and access to markets in areas such as uMzumbe Ward 19 in KwaZulu-Natal, Musina, Lepelle-Nkumpi, Phalaborwa, and Ephraim Mogale in Limpopo.

5. Allocate a minimum of 80% of municipal procurement to local SMMEs, cooperatives, and township enterprises involved in manufacturing related economic activities.

6. Formalise and support informal trading through the provision of trading spaces, storage facilities, water, sanitation, electricity, and supportive by-laws.

7. Establish municipal support centres to provide business registration, compliance support, mentorship, financing support, and market access for emerging enterprises.

8. Establish municipal markets, storage facilities, cold-chain infrastructure, and logistics hubs to connect small producers, traders, cooperatives, and informal enterprises to sustainable markets.

9. Develop township and rural industrial hubs to support manufacturing, agro-processing, services, and local production.      

10. Integrate waste pickers and other community-based enterprises into formal municipal systems through fair compensation, support programmes, and sustainable economic opportunities.

11. Establish youth innovation and entrepreneurship hubs that provide digital skills, business support, equipment, and opportunities for youth-owned enterprises.