The few Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) owners who heeded the call to attend Ndlambe Municipality SMMEs meeting at the Civic Centre on Monday, March 20 were left disappointed when the social facilitator informed them on the day that it was cancelled. 
The meeting was called to discuss opportunities that will be made available for SMMEs in the first phase of the town’s sewerage infrastructure implementation. The social facilitator of the project, Lizo Siwisa from Gqeberha said he received the directive to cancel the meeting from the municipality at the eleventh hour.
Arriving 40 minutes after the scheduled starting time of 11am, he was accompanied by Siphokazi Mfanyana from Ndlambe’s infrastructure department to brief the six SMME owners who had attended the meeting of the cancellation. The pair relayed their apologies for the late arrival before informing the business owners that they had been asked to relay the cancellation of the meeting until further notice. “We apologise for coming late. We have been asked to cancel today’s information sharing meeting until we receive further communication of when and how things will happen going forward and that will be shared with you in due course,” Mfanyana said.
When frustrated SMME owners asked for clarity about the cancellation, Mfanyana said she didn’t know what led to this decision, but perhaps it could be that the relevant stakeholders still need to sit and iron out some issues.
The SMMEs asked the municipality to have the courtesy to be mailed the next scheduled date of the meeting and Mfanyana assured that they will be notified of the next date.
