Confusion over Cato Crest Container Park rents

Workers put in the final touches at the Cato Crest
Container Park before it opens for trading at the beginning of March.

The Cato Crest Container park was scheduled to commence trading in February amid vicious rumours that tenants are not obligated to pay rent as it is a European Union funded project. However the project managers have stressed that the EU funds were meant to cover the establishment and construction of the park, and that running costs had to be covered by rents paid by tenants.
The purpose of this article is to put the record straight and explain the need for tenants to pay rent in order to meet the day-to-day costs, which include:

• Maintenance
• Water
• Security
• Cleaning
• Site rental (The land is owned by the Department of Housing.)

It is proposed that tenants will pay rental of between R125 and R250 per month - depending on the size of the container.
Construction of the container park is complete including the installation of electricity. All the containers are fully booked.
The facility will be managed and administered by a development co-operative which is a subsidiary of the Cato Crest Small Business Association.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

John Wilmot, an experienced Quantity Surveyor has been brought on board to strengthen CMDA’s Public Buildings Department. He will be responsible for the construction of pre-schools, urban parks etc.

Sthembile Cele is the new secretary of the Housing Department.

Business of the month competition launched
Top entrepreneurs to win great prizes!

The CMDA Local Economic Development (LED) team, in conjunction with the CMCO, has launched a monthly competition to find the best emerging businesses in the greater Cato Manor area. The winners of the competition will receive a R500 cash prize, and will be offered a free training course to enhance their business skills.

Wim Eising, a member of the LED team, said the entrants would be judged according to the following criteria:

• how well their proposal is presented;
• the marketing methods used by the business;
• sustainability of the business;
• innovative steps taken to cope with recession.

The competition has a dual purpose. Firstly it will enable the LED team to gather more information about small and micro enterprises and entrepreneurs in Cato Manor. This information will be helpful when it comes to planning economic projects such as industrial workshops, small business loans, small-scale interventions etc.
Secondly, the competition will help to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment in Cato Manor.
The winners will be announced in IZWI.

The competition is open to all businesses operating in Cato Manor. To enter send your entries to the Cato Manor Businessman Competition, Intuthuko Junction,
750 Francois Road, Cato Manor, 4091.

Tourism Workshops back on schedule

The information sharing workshop suffered a minor setback due to the funeral arrangements of the late Durban Municipality Manager, Felix Dlamini.
The workshop that was supposed to be conducted on the 26th of January is now scheduled to take place on Friday 5th April 2002. The workshop will be conducted as from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Venue for the workshop is the Westridge Tennis Stadium
The workshop isaimed at helping people wishing to be involved in the tourism industry understand the financial implications of the trade. Financial institutions have been invited to be part of the workshop so that participants can get first hand information regarding financing of the projects. Some of those invited are Business Partners, Ithala, Durban Unicity and the KwaZulu Natal Tourism Authority and The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.