KSD Municipality launched a Spaza Shop Support initiative in Vidgesville Wholesale on 28 June 2024.
The Council of King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality approved this programme as one of its main drives and took a bold step to intervene and support the retail sector, especially at a time when the retail industry in villages and throughout South Africa faces significant competitive pressures, particularly in the rural spaza shop space. This initiative seeks to reinforce and support these enterprises as they continue to serve the community.
Speaking at the launch of the Spaza Shop Support Initiative, the Executive Mayor of KSD Municipality, Cllr Nyaniso Nelani, emphasised that “this is an ongoing initiative that aims to support small businesses, promote job creation, and contribute to the growth of the KSD economy.”
The program also aims to formalize the retail sector, particularly spaza shops. All businesses are further encouraged to formalize themselves across all sectors in order to influence Gross Value Add (GVA) for all economic sectors. Unregistered and informal businesses contribute to skewed statistics, which undervalue KSD from an investment perspective. This support program will contribute significantly to the retail sector statistics and thereby the Gross Value Add (GVA) of KSD in the long run.
Beneficiaries from 12 Wards benefited and they will each get a start-up stock whilst also being assisted and supported in financial management skill to make their business self-sustainable.
We are guided by our vision as a people centred Municipality spearheading radical economic transformation in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner”, and we remain immensely committed to that.
