Question NW1412 to the Minister of Small Business Development
25 August 2022 - NW1412
Mathulelwa, Ms B to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
By what date will (a) permits and (b) tools of trade be provided to (i) struggling street vendors along the N2 and (ii) small-scale fisheries in KwaZulu-Natal as a means to develop their businesses?
Reply:
(a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has engaged the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to ensure that municipalities speed up the process of issuing permits to street vendors as this mandate resides with local government.
(b)(i)&(ii) The DSBD is working tirelessly with its entities, the Small Business Development Agency (Seda) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), together with local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal to support informal and micro businesses that are conducting trade in many areas within the province. Local municipalities continuously approach the Department to implement its programmes to support these businesses in areas that have been identified as requiring urgent assistance particularly in rural areas and in locations along the N2 highway.
The three main programmes that the DSBD and its entities implements to support traders are the Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme, the Craft Support Programme as well as the Fruit and Vegetable Support Scheme. Local municipalities together with relevant business associations are encouraged to engage their local Seda offices to arrange for interventions aimed at targeted communities along the N2 for the provision of relevant tools and other business development support.
The DSBD further has signed off an MOU to collaborate with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) on several areas. One of these areas focuses on the fishing industry. The DFFE has issued fishing rights of up to 15 years to fishing co-operatives along the coastal communities in South Africa, some of which are in KwaZulu-Natal. The Department has found that most of them have little or no proper fishing equipment and tools including protective gear.
Some of them have received training but others still need to be capacitated or trained on several skills including but not limited to business training, financial management, safety protocols in water, co-ops training, etc. The DSBD and its entities are collaborating with DFFE in developing appropriate programmes and interventions to speedily address these gaps.
STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS
MINISTER: DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT