Committee Legacy Report; Committee 2023 Annual Report

Meeting report

Committee's Legacy Report

The Chairperson said the Committee's Legacy Report was an important and crucial guide for future legislative efforts. It should emphasise the need for continued support by government to small businesses, as they made a vital contribution to economic growth and job creation.

Mr Sibusiso Gumede, Committee Content Advisor, briefed the Committee on its final draft Legacy Report. He said Members had already deliberated on the contents of the draft, and that their inputs from the last meeting had been incorporated. He thus presented only the recommendations that the Committee would make to the Seventh Parliament. These recommendations had also been underpinned by a context analysis.

The draft recommended that the Seventh Parliament should develop a tool that could facilitate, monitor and track the responses by the Executive to the Committee's recommendations and resolutions. This tool should also be accompanied by specified timeframes by which the Executive has to respond. The Seventh Parliament should also look at the imposition of measures in its rules that would make the obligations binding.

The Committee expressed their displeasure with the instability at senior management level at the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD). The draft recommended that the Seventh Parliament should constantly monitor such recurring inefficiencies, and impress regularly that the critical human resource needs of the Department had to be met. These needs included the appointment of skilled and competent officials. A lack of senior leadership and instability hampered service delivery.

The Committee noted the Department's successful adherence to paying small business suppliers within the 30-day period. It recommended to the Seventh Parliament that it should it ensure that the Department, in partnership with National Treasury, should develop an indicator that tracked the whole of the government’s adherence to the 30-day rule. The Seventh Parliament should also monitor that this be included in the annual performance plan (APP) of the Department.

Further recommendations pertained to the support and expansion of public private partnerships (PPPs) by the DSBD. Special attention to enterprise supply and development, and other broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) code of practices should also be looked at. There was also a need for a comprehensive and dedicated market strategy for the retail sector's support of small businesses.

Mr Gumede said one important deliverable was still pending before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). He wanted Members' consent to make the necessary amendment to the draft as soon as the NCOP had pronounced it (he was referring to the National Small Enterprise Amendment Bill)

The Chairperson thanked Mr Gumede for the comprehensive Report and opened the floor to Members.

Discussion

Mr V Zungula (ATM) applauded the comprehensive draft, and said that the Department should be commended for paying suppliers within the 30-day period. He asked that a legislative measure be introduced that made it mandatory for government departments to pay suppliers within 30 days. In his view, there ought to be penalties for non-compliance.

On recommendation 15.7, he wanted to ascertain what had informed the 30 % procurement target from small businesses that had to be met by government. He advocated the establishment of a framework that ensured adherence to the 30% target. This should also be backed up by law.

On 15.12, he asked whether it would not be more feasible for government to employ business inspectors to inspect the proliferation of illegal foreign-owned shops. These inspectors should operate along the same lines as labour inspectors.

He further noted that oversight visits played an important role in the Committee's work. He specifically cited the oversight visits during the aftermath of the civil unrest that had occurred in Kwazulu-Natal in July 2021.

Mr J de Villiers (DA) recalled that in February 2023, the Minister of Small Business Development announced an energy relief package earmarked for small businesses. This was to cushion small businesses from load-shedding's economic consequences. The energy instability had resulted in a crisis for small businesses, whose operational costs had soared. Since the Minister's announcement, nothing has come of this pledge. He said that budgets should be aligned so that the energy relief package initiative could be introduced to alleviate the widespread economic suffering among small business owners.

Mr H Krüger (DA) said that previous Members had covered him, and echoed their sentiments about the comprehensive draft that had been tabled.

Ms K Tlhomelang (ANC) also welcomed the draft that had been tabled. It was comprehensive and captured the Sixth Parliament's work.

She totally agreed with the recommendations on the monitoring tools, stability at senior management level at the Department and the 30-day rule. She said that there had to be a proactive approach towards red tape reduction. A red tape reduction would help to create a more business friendly environment.

The Chairperson also echoed the sentiments that his colleagues had expressed on the draft recommendations.

He welcomed the recommendations on the monitoring tool and the point on capacity and instability at the Department. He hoped that the President would sign the "One Entity," as this would stabilise the sector.

He added that it was a pity that the Committee could not host the finance symposium on external funding. This would have brought role-players together in one room to network around access to private sector finance. He hoped that the Seventh Parliament would continue with plans to host this event.

He agreed that the Committee had to get a hold on government business infrastructure and premises. It was important that government should be consolidated and deployed efficiently.

He also supported the comment on the energy relief package. One matter that should be explored is how small businesses, as consumers, could also become producers. In Europe, one was already seeing this phenomenon.

“If we want our communities to adopt green energies, we need to the involve them", he added.

He proposed adding an additional comment that spoke to the opportunities in the emerging solar panel industry. He added that it was wrong to say nothing had been done, as there were incentives for high-end households and businesses. The only thing left for the Committee was to encourage the Department to follow through on the rollout of support initiatives for small business development.

The point on the need to regulate foreign-owned businesses was well noted. Labour inspections were not enough. It was important that all businesses should be regulated and registered. The registration of businesses should also be simplified, and not onerous.

The Chairperson recalled that during Covid-19, the President had referred to 1 000 locally-produced products that had to be sourced locally. There was a need for local manufacturing to be stimulated in the wake of increased cheap Chinese imports. He asked that a paragraph to this effect be included in the draft. He also pointed towards the insertion of the decision by the NCOP, which was still outstanding.

Mr Gumede thanked Members for their compliments, and said that a lot of work had gone into the draft. The Sixth Parliament had done a lot of work, despite the myriad of challenges, such as the civil unrest and natural calamities. There was still room for improvement.

He said Mr Zungula's comments would also be included in the draft.

Regarding the 30% procurement target, he pointed out that it was a National Treasury initiative. At the beginning, the target had been set at 85%, but this had subsequently been lowered to 30%. The government spent trillions of rands on goods and services, but very little of this trickled down to small businesses and cooperatives. This situation required particular attention.

Mr Gumede also said that there were several policies and laws that resided in other departments, but fell within the Department's ambit. The Procurement Bill was one such instance. It was important that the Committee followed up on this.

He also noted the comment about the need for increased oversight visits. The middle of draft report contained operational recommendations, whereas the 20 recommendations were strategic ones. The Committee should conduct more oversight visits. At least one a month should suffice.

Adoption of Legacy Report

The Chairperson called for the adoption of the draft Legacy Report.

Mr G Hendricks (Al Jama-ah) moved the adoption. He also thanked Members and support staff.

Ms Tlhomelang seconded the adoption of the Report.

The Legacy Report was duly adopted.

Adoption of minutes

The Committee minutes dated 20 March were also considered for adoption.

Mr Kruger moved their adoption, and Ms N Muller (ANC) seconded.

The minutes were duly adopted.

Members' farewell speeches

The Chairperson requested Members to make farewell speeches.

Mr Hendricks paid tribute to the deceased former Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Violet Siwela, whom he remembered affectionately. He had a lot of respect for her, and once again sent his condolences to her family.

He thanked the current Chairperson for his astute leadership.

He said that Mr Kruger's passion for small business development had stood out for him. He had gone the extra mile to the point of having introduced a Private Members Bill. It was a pity that the Bill had not received the support it deserved.

He had also expressed his disappointment that the Committee could not honour the President's commitment to the people of South Africa to create a million jobs. He hoped that the Seventh Parliament would look at this as decent work was very important. Decent work also meant social benefits, such as access to bursaries and retrenchment pay, as part of a comprehensive package of social benefits. Former President Nelson Mandela received the International Labour Organisation's first annual Decent Work Research Prize in 2007. Decent work also meant upward mobility for employees and the opportunity to be skilled and be absorbed into the supply chain of various sectors.

Mr Kruger thanked his colleagues for the robust dialogue and mutual respect that had reigned between them. He was, and would always remain, passionate about small business development and the reduction of red tape. The Committee had had a "great five years", he added.

He thanked his DA colleagues for their support and expressed gratitude to the Chairperson for having stepped in at a tragic time. He wished Members well for the looming elections, and said he should be back in the Seventh Parliament.

Mr De Villiers said he could not believe it was the end of the term already, as it felt like it had only just begun.

He echoed the sentiments of previous speakers, and said that the Committee had done extensive work on public participation, the study tour to Germany, the response to the civil unrest in 2021, and the natural calamities, were just some of the highlights.

He lauded the bipartisan nature of the Committee and wished everyone well in the upcoming elections.

He remembered Ms Siwela and her dedication to her work. The Committee still missed her a lot. He also thanked the parliamentary staff for their diligent and outstanding assistance to the Committee.

Ms Muller thanked Members for having welcomed her with open arms. She had come in late during the term, so unfortunately, she did not have time to really get to the meat of the work.

She would have liked to get to know Ms Siwela, who seemed like a true leader from whom she could have learned.

Mr Zungula expressed his compliments to Members for their joint conduct. He also praised the bipartisan nature that had reigned in the Committee, and praised the professionalism and work ethic of the parliamentary staff. The next Parliament should build on the example that has been set.

Ms M Lubengo (ANC) also thanked all Members and staff Members for the love and respect shown towards her. She wished everyone well.

Ms Thlomelang joined her colleagues in expressing appreciation. She also lauded the bipartisan nature of the Committee. Members knew that the interests of South Africans should be first and foremost on their minds.

She paid tribute to the outstanding leadership of Ms Siwela and wished that her “revolutionary soul" would rest in eternal peace. She also appreciated the new Chairperson, who had come in at a very difficult time for the Committee. It was very difficult to hold a group of politicians together and have them work towards a common goal. This objective has been achieved.

She thanked the parliamentary staff for their sterling work and assistance to the Committee during the term. She also extended gratitude to the Department, as well as its executive heads.

The Chairperson concluded that the end of the term had marked the culmination of an era. He was grateful to Members for the love and dedication they had shown towards their mandate. He described Ms Siwela as a “living legacy" who had contributed much to South African society.

The Committee had dedicated itself to the upliftment and advancement of small businesses. Small business development was the backbone of South Africa's growing economy, and the Legacy Report attested to the great work that the Committee had done.

The Committee had also facilitated access to markets and finance, and had worked towards the reduction of red tape. The Committee has also advanced the enhancement of infrastructure and small business premises.

It also conducted oversight visits, although limited, and these assisted the Committee greatly.

The Chairperson also lauded the parliamentary staff for their assistance, and wished everyone well for the looming elections.

The meeting was adjourned.