COPE calls on Manuel to make good on his word

By Cindy Witten
18 February 2009

Following yesterdays announcement that the Atlantis Forge factory (a company that produces parts for heavy vehicles) would close, 400 workers from Atlantis are expected to lose their jobs.

This comes as a huge blow for the West Coast town already suffering from high rates of unemployment, crime and social problems.
“The community of Atlantis is already on its knees. They have the highest rate of unemployment in the metro, the highest incident of drug abuse and extremely high crime rate,” said Congress of the People NEC Simon Grindrod.
“The loss of another 400 jobs will be the beginning of the end for the community of Atlantis.”

Grindrod says that this is the perfect opportunity for Finance Minister Trevor Manual to act on promises made in his Budget Speech last week that Government would investigate options to protect South African jobs.
“We’re calling on Trevor Manuel now to keep his promise and to let us see these mechanisms he is talking about,” he said.