Tendering has become one of the ways the youth look to for earning a living but the MEC wants this kind of thinking to end.
LUCAS SHONGWE
Mpumalanga economic development MEC Eric Kholwane wants the type of business initiatives that can sustain the growth of the South African economy.
But he said the tendering system is not one of these, rather the youth should go the extra mile in being innovative.
Kholwane was speaking during the opening of a youth owned chicken franchise, Galitos, in Middelburg recently.
“When we talk about entrepreneurship, young people always think about tenders,” the MEC said at the launch.
ALSO RELATED: YCCISA helps Mhluzi woman start own Galitos restaurant
“Entrepreneurship is not about tenders,” Kholwane said.
“It is about ideas and being innovative,” he told the Mhluzi youths who attended the event.
He said his office has an abundance of funding available to really wants to offer entrepreneurial innovations, “not those who want tenders”.
He said government should stop the tendering system. “We want to buy directly from local suppliers so to promote innovation in young people and boost local economies,” he said.
The franchise was funded by the Mpumalanga Economic Development Agency in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency and Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industries of South Africa.
It is one of the three projects launched in the Nkangala region, owned by women.
“We are happy that today we are launching a program that is anchored around young women in this month of August,” said Kholwane.
ALSO RELATED: Kholwane says slow economic growth is cause for concern
“Looking at our history, men were oppressed by race and the system but women had to endure a third layer of oppression which oppression by their male counterparts. Unfortunately women today are still exposed to that type of oppression,” the MEC said.
“It’s important that we should not downplay the pain endured by women during the liberation struggle. Let’s hold them by hand so they can also succeed, not to manipulate them,” he said.
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