Skills training still a priority in Cato Manor 

Small contractors register at the Business Awareness Workshop.

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The Community Development Department of the CMDA is introducing new ways of assisting Cato Manor residents to access economic opportunities.

The Department has committed R1,3 million for the four training programmes which will be made available to residents during the next few months.

The first programme scheduled to take off is the multi-skilling project which is targeted at small scale contractors. The project will increase the viability of the local SMME's through the application of sound business, contracting and technical skills.

"We hope that when this project is completed 20% of the people trained will be able to establish viable business undertakings and 80% of those who were already established in business would grow their businesses by at least 5% within 12 months after graduation," said Nandile Trinidad of the Comdev team.

To kickstart the projects a business awareness workshop has already been held and registration of candidates for the training programme has been completed. Another training programme for basic business management skills is being put together and is at the final stages of preparation.

In Jamaica, the development committee will undergo intensive training on Basic Housing Management Skills.

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Small Business Fair for Cato Manor 
Opportunity for entrepreneurs to get in touch with the new markets.

A Cato Manor resident with her handmade goods at a Small Business Fair held at the Durban Exhibition Centre.

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Cato Manor based small businesses will get an opportunity to showcase their products at a Small Business Fair to be held later this year at a venue yet to be announced.

The purpose of the Fair is to encourage local entrepreneurs to interact with other well established businesses.

The Fair has been organised by the CMDA following a survey that was undertaken to determine the number of people who are self-employed.

The Fair will make it easier for local entrepreneurs to

network with service providers, such as financial institutions and training organisations, as well as with other established businesses.

Local businesses will display their products at the Fair such as beads, homemade shoes, knitted items, sewing, burglar guards and concrete blocks. Invitations to participate in the Business Fair have been sent out to financial institutions such as Ithala Bank, Protea Finance, ABSA Newbank, Standard Bank, Rural Finance as well as businesses such as Amalgamated Beverage Industries, Container Leasing Africa, Unilever and BP South Africa.

The fair will include government departments such as the Metro Economic Unit and the Metro Informal Trade Department, as well as other relevant non-governmental organisations like the Built Environment Support Group.

Cato Manor business people who want to be part of this great occasion can get application forms at the Chesterville Township office, the Housing Support Centre or from the chairman of the Cato Crest Small Business Associations, Shadrack Hlubi in Cato Crest.

Stalls for displaying goods will cost between R50 and R400.

Also to be included in the fair is a competition among Cato Manor based cultural groups.

ENQUIRIES: Contact Mxolisi Mwandla at 2616640.

EDITOR'S NOTE
	Welcome to the new look IZWI This edition marks the transition of IZWI to conform with the expectations of the new millennium. To enter this phase IZWI is changing its look and its orientation. For five years our focus has been on the construction of houses, social facilities and engineering projects.
Now we are going to shift our concentration to economic development but we shall still continue to keep our readers informed about what goes on in the construction of houses etc but we will also publish community news to make IZWI attractive to readers. Economic development More energy will be focused in providing our stakeholders with an opportunity of advertising their goods and services in the newspaper. Part of the reason is to make the newspaper sustainable and partly because we are committing ourselves to play an active role in the economic development of Cato Manor. A recently concluded reader survey indicates that IZWI is now in demand compared to when it was first established. More people are demanding to receive every edition that is published. In meeting this challenge, we would like to appeal to all our readers, community structures and our distributors to work as a team in ensuring that IZWI is properly circulated. Enjoy reading this edition and the many more to come. Remember, united we stand and divided we fall.