Africa-Press – South-Africa. Residents of Hangberg in Cape Town say they have been waiting for years to access the local Hout Bay harbour, which has been in a state of decay for many years.
Locals complain that the promises made under Operation Phakisa, a government plan designed to boost economic growth and create jobs, with the ocean economy as one of its focus areas, have not materialised or benefitted struggling locals.
A businesswoman, Patience Gerpfte, said she had been waiting for the approval of her lease application at the Hout Bay harbour for eight years.
“I have applied for a space at the harbour every year for the past eight years. You are supposed to submit a business plan and a lease application. I think I have submitted three business plans, but still nothing from [the Department of] Public Works and Infrastructure],” Gerpfte told News24.
“The buildings we have applied for are in a dire state, and it will now take millions to upgrade [even if we get the lease].”
Gerpfte is one of the many entrepreneurs in Hout Bay asking for transformation at Hout Bay harbour, so that local, black-owned businesses and small-scale fishers can benefit from the ocean economy.
Residents said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, responsible for the maintenance and infrastructure of South African harbours and the letting or renting of its structures, had to have concrete plans to ensure that transformation could occur.
In its defence, the department said it remained committed to a new leasing framework, under Operation Phakisa, which could benefit and empower local and black-owned businesses.
Operation Phakisa
Introduced in 2014, Operation Phakisa forms part of the National Development Plan to boost economic growth, create jobs and address poverty, unemployment and inequality issues.
In 2018, the Operation Phakisa Small Harbours Development Mini-Lab took place and was attended by the government and other stakeholders, including civil society and businesses, to boost revenue and create work opportunities by letting out small harbours and state coastal properties.
According to the department, it would work with the National Treasury’s chief procurement office to develop a new letting framework to ensure revenue and job creation – thereby empowering black-owned and local businesses via radical economic transformation measures.
The department’s director of media and stakeholder relations, Thami Mchunu, said:
According to Mchunu, the department was currently embarking on the roll-out of the new letting-out framework. “The new letting-out framework is premised mainly on three pillars, i.e. Youth Empowerment, Woman Empowerment and People With Disabilities. It also promotes and empowers small-scale fishing by the surrounding communities,” Mchunu told News24.
He said there was no budget to assist small businesses in the new letting-out framework.
However, they planned to approach the Department of Small Business Development to assist small-scale businesses in the harbour.
Locals speak out
Despite the government’s plans, the vice-chair of the Hangberg Peace and Mediation Forum and the chair of the Hout Bay Aquafarmers Cooperative, Gregg Louw, told News24 that transformation plans at small harbours, such as Operation Phakisa, had been forgotten by the government.
“Where are those plans, and why have they not been implemented? It is probably sitting on someone’s desk in Pretoria.”
According to Louw, there needed to be more transformation at the Hout Bay harbour for local, black-owned businesses.
“There are six harbour users from Hangberg and one from Imizamo Yethu. The status quo of the harbour is that there are a lot of people who want spaces and opportunities in this public facility. Still, the criteria need to be set in the leasing framework that gives local people opportunities through a piece of land or buildings at the harbour.”
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Louw said transformation was a distant dream, adding that there were currently only six coloured people who were tenants at the harbour, and no black tenants.
“Big companies [who are tenants at the harbour] can say they have black directors, but it does not matter. There are no locals from Hangberg or Imizamo Yethu [who] have a boat on this harbour,” he said.
Louw said that prioritising local businesses could positively impact the harbour, which had been experiencing poor infrastructure and security issues related to poaching, human trafficking and vandalism.
He said:
Makoti Nomathemba, a member of the Imizamo Yethu Fishing Forum, agreed that people from the area were yet to benefit from the local harbour.
As a resident of Imizamo Yethu since 1991 and of Hout Bay since 1978, Nomathemba said that little to no space had been given to residents and surrounding communities.
However, another challenge facing businesses included the high leasing prices.
“We would like access to the harbour to show something of ours, like the others. But we don’t have that money,” she told News24.
She said she hoped the government could work with and support local communities and small-scale fishermen.
‘It is sad to see’
Gerpfte said the Hout Bay harbour was in a “sad state”.
“The building I want to rent and for which I put my application in eight years ago, there is nothing inside it. It is sad to see. As a local community, we want action. We are tired of the same story. We want leases and transformation. We want the government to be able to mentor people and give workshops for the youth in our communities,” she said.
She said local communities surrounding the harbour were struggling.
“It [the harbour] is so close to us, but there is nothing for the people of Hangberg and us. Since a few years ago, when Oceana closed its doors at the harbour, 90 percent of people still need work. It was the biggest fishing company. People in our community are struggling, and the youth are all over the place.”
She said she was not backing down and would continue to apply for a lease at the harbour.
“I want the harbour to be as it used to be. Years back, the harbour was very busy. Hundreds of people were walking around, and there was a different atmosphere. I want this back,” she said.
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