Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises contractors in Nelson Mandela Bay have threatened to stop the 2019 Standard Bank Ironman South Africa event on April 7th if their members do not get 30% percent of the contracts.
And, to prove they're serious, members from the Summerstrand Business Forum brought construction off scaffolding walkways on the beachfront to a halt on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Boyce Baskiti said they began negotiating with the previous city administration for SMME's to be given a slice of the contracting pie for Ironman but this had not been followed through since the political administration had changed in Nelson Mandela Bay.
"We were promised that there will be space for us and we had an agreement last year to say that we will benefit this year," he told Algoa FM News.
However, he said they were told that Ironman has got their own SMME's.
Baskiti says the Summerstrand Forum, which is demanding that their members in Wards on the Ironman route be given work, are demanding that Ironman organisors reveal who their SMME contractors are and what services they are providing.
"Our programme is to say that there will be no Ironman in the Nelson Mandela metro if they are not taking care of us as they had promised in 2018."
Ironman organisors have yet to comment while Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Mongameli Bobani has reportedly urged the parties to resolve their differences.
(Pic: Ironman)
