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Thousands of cooperatives and small businesses that have over the past two months registered for

the Jozi@Work programme can begin to tap into a wide and diverse range of opportunities that the R1

billion empowerment and job-creation initiative brings with it from as early as January 5 next

year.

This is the message that officials from Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo, Pikitup and the Department

of Health and Social Development have over the past two days been communicating to scores of Region

A residents who have registered their cooperatives and community-based businesses for work packages

under the Jozi@Work programme.

The areas the officials have visited over the past two days are Midrand, Ivory Park and Diepsloot.

“You don’t need a degree in waste management,” said Abigail Ndlovu, the City’s Citizen Relations

and Urban Management Region A Director. Do not panic if you do not have a refuse removal truck. The

City is not setting you up for failure. We want you to succeed and accelerate service delivery in

the city.”

Ndlovu was speaking to 160 residents at Lord Khanyile Community Hall in Ivory Park on Wednesday

December 3.

This was after Gift Sithole, of the City’s Facilities Management, had given a presentation on a

work package involving grass cutting, tendering to flowerbeds and the weeding out of alien

vegetation at the Diepsloot, Ivory Park, Ivory Park North and Rabie Ridge community libraries, and

at the Rabie Ridge public swimming pool.

“All the service provider needs is basic gardening knowledge and the ability to cut grass, trim

hedges, prune trees and shrubs, remove weeds from bedding and paved areas, and clear garden

debris,” Sithole said.

The Department of Health and Social Development’s Tshidi Maponya said the City required the

services of legally registered entities that could help with the distribution of food parcels to

“food insecure” households.

“About 15 000 needy households in all the City’s nine regions have been identified,” she said.

“Service providers are required to provide 5kg of vegetables every month to the identified

households. All the City is looking for is successful service providers to have basic literacy and

numeracy skills, source and handle food in hygienic conditions and procure good quality veggies.”

Joseph Ndou, of the Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo, emphasised the need to use protective clothing

and being physically fit as most of this municipality-owned entity’s work was labour intensive.

He said the entity’s work packages involved the general upkeep of the Darter Park, Ebony Park,

Ivory Park, Kaalfontein public parks from January 5 to June 30 next year.
“This is an ongoing process. If you are not successful during the first round, that does not mean

you have to throw in the towel. We’ll be inviting more expressions of interest from registered

companies, cooperatives, residents association, NGOs and NPOs for more work on the city’s parks” he

said.

This week’s work packages presentation is the culmination of consultative meetings in all the nine

regions.

“For those who are still waiting for the registration documents, you don’t have to worry. When you

fill in the expression of interest documents, just put in your ID number and officials will be able

to pick up the status of your registration process,” Ndlovu said.

Residents have until December 12 to submit their expressions of interest in the various work

packages.