Pedi has conducted a Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) survey to better understand the constraints to business retention as well as factors that would draw in new businesses, and build the desirability of the area for investment.
The BR&E survey was conducted to identify the needs and priorities of local businesses, and to help develop agreement around plans for business growth. The aim was to make local business more competitive, to identify opportunities for business growth, and to create and implement strategic action plans that would lead to economic development.
The survey found that over 80 percent of businesses were planning to stay in the area, despite the difficulties they identified. The most commonly cited constraints were crime and security, lack of support from local government and transport costs. Others were the difficulty of access to finance and the unavailability of skilled workers.
One of Pedi's key roles is to support small businesses and to do this it has set up communication channels with business owners. It aims to use these to help them access information and development opportunities. Following the BR&E research, five Public/Private partnership committees were formed to address areas of need and local business leaders decided to establish five Strategic Task Teams to deal with specific issues found in the area.
Task Teams and leaders:
Safety and Security - Thomas Swana, CEO, Pedi
Visible Policing of By-Laws - Jose Fernandes, MD, Baltimore Air Coils International
Municipal Service-Delivery - Ken Newton, CEO, Kroonstad Terrazzo Works
Improvement of existing road infrastructure - Adriaan Mobara, Operations Manager, Golden Arrow Bus Services
Supplier/Business Development - Paul Stöhrer, Pedi
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