Question NW1186 to the Minister of Small Business Development

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21 June 2021 - NW1186

Profile picture: Nxumalo, Mr MN

Nxumalo, Mr MN to ask the Minister of Small Business Development

Whether she has found that her department’s Debt Relief Finance Scheme for small, medium and micro-enterprise affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was executed transparently and effectively; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the details of the measures that her department put in place to promote fairness?”

Reply:

The Department of Small Business Development has designed and implemented the SMMEs Debt Relief Facility to assist small business that were impacted negatively by Covid-19 pandemic. This main aim of this intervention was to protect the investment already made in the businesses involved, save jobs and prevent business closure.

To ensure that the Facility is executed efficiently and in a transparent manner, numerous control measures were put in place. These measures include heightening awareness about the Facility by publishing information, including the funding criteria on the websites of the Department and its agencies, Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa); and issuing of press releases. Furthermore, the information on all funded beneficiaries was published on the DSBD website for the consumption of the members of the public.

The SMMEs Debt Relief Facility was also subjected to an audit process. The audit performed by the independent auditors (Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo) awarded the Facility an unqualified audit opinion. In light of the above, the Department can provide a reasonable assurance that the principle of transparency and fairness were upheld in rolling out the SMMEs Debt Relief Facility.

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RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

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MR LINDOKUHLE MKHUMANE

ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

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RESPONSE RECOMMENDED BY:

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MS ROSEMARY CAPA, MP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

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RESPONSE APPROVED BY:

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MS KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP

MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DATE:

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