Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised Hansard
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 18 May 2016
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2016
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PROCEEDING OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
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The Council met at 14:01.
The House Chairperson: Committees, Oversight, Co-operative
Government and Intergovernmental Relations took the Chair and
requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or
meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND
RECREATION - WORKSHOP ON THE ROLE OF SETAS IN SOUTH AFRICA’S
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE NEEDS OF THE INDUSTRY IN
THE COUNTRY HELD AT THE CAPE TOWN LODGE HOTEL ON 21 OCTOBER 2015.
Ms L L ZWANE: House Chairperson, may I present the report of the
Select Committee on Education and Recreation workshop with the Setas
that was held at the Cape Lodge Hotel on 21 October 2015 where we
were to discuss the role of the Sector Education and Training
Authority, Setas, in the economic growth and their relevance to the
needs of the industry in the country. The Select Committee on
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Education and Recreation hosted a workshop on the role of Sector
Education and Training Authorities in economic growth at the Cape
Town Lodge on 21 October 2015. The role of the Setas was determined
as follows:
To develop a sector‘s skills plan and describe the trends in each
sector, the skills that are in demand and to identify priorities for
skills development; develop and administer learnerships which
include the traditional apprenticeship of the past and combine
practice and theory; prepare people for the jobs and the new
services sector and for high paraprofessional occupations; support
the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework, NQF, on
which any qualification or learning outcome can be registered;
undertake quality assurance in promoting quality provision, Setas
accredited education and training providers, monitor provision to
ensure that programmes are being followed, register assessors,
collaborate with other education and training quality assures,
report to the SA Qualifications Authority on how they fulfil the
Education and Training Quality, ETQ, role, and disburse levies
collected from employers in their sector.
During the course of the workshop the following changes were
highlighted: Poor training delivery by stakeholders resulting in low
completion rates and high dropout rates; in some cases there are
fraudulent bursary applications by some unscrupulous institutions on
behalf of the students; the existence and availability of
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inadequately equipped and nonaccredited apprentice training
workplaces have presented challenges; and the lack of capacity and
flexibility at some of the Further Education and Training Colleges,
TVET, colleges and higher education institutions sometimes
compromise collaboration efforts and stifle the implementation of
skills development initiatives with the institutions.
The committee made the following recommendations applicable to all
the Setas: The Seta landscape should respond to all key challenges
faced by all the Setas regarding National Skills Development
Strategy, NSDS III; Seta offices should be established in all the
provinces to ensure accessibility; all Setas should have programmes
that are biased towards rural communities; it should be a
requirement that training facilitators are qualified in the fields
they provide training; all Setas cater and be inclusive of
disability sector; Setas programmes should be simplified and
communicated in languages that communities are able to understand;
all Setas should ensure that there is standardisation in the formula
used to allocate bursaries and should use National Student Financial
Aid Scheme, Nsfas, as a conduit; all Setas should ensure that they
meet as clusters to ensure that there is no duplication of work; and
Setas should widen access and ensure that all TVET lecturers are
highly qualified as well as ensuring that training facilitators are
accredited at all times.
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Chairperson, may I present the report to the NCOP for adoption.
Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND
RECREATION - OVERSIGHT VISIT TO KWAZULU-NATAL
Ms L L ZWANE: Chairperson, may I present the report of the Select
Committee on Education and Recreation on the oversight visit which
was conducted in conjunction with the Portfolio Committee on Basic
Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Umzinyathi District from 25 to 29
January 2016. The primary focus of the oversight visit was to assess
the state of school readiness for 2016 in the province and the
districts as well as to oversee the implementation of key priority
areas.
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There was an additional need to provide support to the provincial
education department as well as the districts and schools in finding
effective solutions to the challenges being faced. The focus areas
were the following: The state of the schools environment; the state
of the school admission and registration of learners; the provision
of learner-teacher support material; the staff establishment, that
is, post-provisioning norms, PPN; school improvement plans; the
management and availability of learner transport; the management and
availability of school nutrition programmes to qualifying learners;
the functionality of school governing bodies and the management of
school management teams, SMT; the state of school infrastructure and
ICT; and the availability of school furniture.
The schools that were visited are the following: Mqamathi Senior
Secondary School, Dlabesuthe Senior Secondary School, Dumaphansi
Senior Secondarry School, Cabangokuhle High School, Sibumba Primary
School, Fundokuhle High School, Mpikayizekanye Senior Secondary
School, Bathembi Senior Secondary School, Bhekizizwe Senior
Secondary School and Maceba Senior Secondary School.
Some of the challenges that the province was facing are as follows:
Too many small or non-viable schools; shortage of qualified teachers
in some of the learning areas; breakdown of governance in some of
the institutions; nonaccountabilty measures or disciplining of
officials who flouted the laws; school governing bodies‘ role and
the appointment of school principals was a challenge in some of the
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districts; a problem with regard to a blanket progression of
learners with no clear support strategies.
Members raised concerns over the following: The move to replace
experienced foreign educators with new inexperienced educators who
lack the desirable content knowledge; seemingly lack of interaction
between the department – head office – and the districts; the view
that the department was not keeping some of the national policies or
was not implementing them properly; and the view that organised
labour had taken the responsibilities of the provincial department.
Chairperson, the report is quite long; allow me to go the
recommendations. But I want to assure the House that in both cases –
both KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape – the Department of Basic
Education has actually set down to draw the turnaround strategies as
to how the situation is going to be turned around given the fact
that one reason why they were chosen is that they did not perform
well during the 2015 in the National Senior Certificate. So, there
was a turnaround strategy to address particularly that critical
issue.
The recommendations by the committee were that: There has to be a
monitoring system of the teachers that enter the teaching career,
particularly those that are teaching Mathematics and science through
the bursary of Fundza Lushaka; the teachers should keep to the nonnegotiables and the districts to ensure that teachers are at school
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on time, prepared and that they have got sufficient number of
contact hours; there was emphasis given to the effect that the
districts legislation and policies of the department are strictly
adhered to and implemented; the department through the districts
should ensure that kilometres allocated to education officials, like
the subject advisors, are reviewed because there was an outcry that
the kilometres allocated for them to go and visit schools were too
low; the immediate filling in of critical posts where such has not
been done because of the tussles between the unions and the
department; there be stricter measures to ensure that there is
proper management of leave; the department to ensure that the
rationalisation, or the removal or the reduction of non-viable
schools is attended to immediately; learners that deserve scholar
transport be given an opportunity to have it; the province to ensure
that there is a good relationship between the itself and the
district; low performing district be given attention; and lastly,
the committee insisted that it would expect a regular report to
Parliament on the turnaround strategy that will be implemented.
Thank you, Chairperson.
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
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Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND
RECREATION – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO THE LADY FRERE DISTRICT, EASTERN
CAPE
Ms L L ZWANE: Thank you, Chairperson. Again, in terms of our
constitutional responsibility as the Select Committee on Education
and Recreation also in conjunction with the Portfolio Committee on
Basic Education at the National Assembly visited the Eastern Cape
Province and the focus was on the Lady Frere District between the 31
January and 3 February. The focus areas were the same as those of
the KwaZulu-Natal.
We were going to look at the state of the school and environment;
the rate of admissions of learners; the supply of learner-teacher
support materials; post provision norms, whether the districts have
improvement plans; the functioning of the school governing bodies;
the school management teams; the state of the school infrastructure;
the buildings as well as the ICT and the availability of school
furniture.
The schools that were visited were the following: the Echibini
Senior Secondary School, Indwe Senior Secondary School, Lukhanyo
Senior Secondary School, Ikhwezi Senior Secondary School, Mzamo
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Senior Secondary School and Tsembeyi Junior Primary School. We also
had meetings with the various stakeholders including meetings with
school governing body associations and organised labour.
The intervention strategies that the Eastern Cape department had
proposed in order to correct the situation of low performance,
particularly of all Grades; with the focus attention on Grade 12 and
the following: weekend classes for mathematics, Science and
Accounting, roving tutors for subjects without teachers, winter
schools, springs schools and autumn schools; learner revision camps
for schools without hostels; monitoring by the multidisciplinary
teams, for curriculum coverage, learner attendance and effective use
of the LTSM; learner motivations and guidance by on study skills;
use of ICT and software programmes; school based extra-classes;
morning and afternoon and in some cases evening as well or during
the weekends; incubation of small and underperforming schools by
hostel schools and the use of study guides; newspapers and other
supplementary materials.
The recommendations of the committee were as follows: That the
department ensures that the vacant posts are filled with immediate
effect; and that the vacant posts are declared timorously for the
district to be able to act that shortages in the LTSM are ordered
and replaced immediately and also that attention should be given to
high schools and Grade 12 that did not have textbooks at the time of
our visit.
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The province and the district were ordered to ensure that the
retention of the textbooks or that the system is devised or
strengthened to ensure that at the end of the year textbooks are
retrieved to be used by learners during the subsequent years. Also,
there had to be training programmes to develop the capacity and
management of the SGBs, schools.
The management teams and district have to ensure that through their
responsible officials they paid attention to the fact that learners
are receiving nutrition, in terms of the norms and standard by DBE.
And the new educators that are entering into the profession are also
mentored and given the necessary support. And that to expatriate
teachers are given longer contracts because there was an outcry that
they are given short contracts as a result of the permits, which
they get from Home Affairs.
Also district should ensure that unions do not use school time to
attend to union meetings and memorial services if there are any. The
should use the learners time for purposes either than being in class
with the learners. The department had to swiftly ensure that schools
that have shortage in textbooks those shortages should be attended
immediately.
In the meeting that we had with the unions the recommendation was
that the union should see to it that there is harmony between
themselves and the department of education, and that in areas where
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they don‘t see eye-to-eye, they have to hold meetings and try to
come to terms and work in a manner that does not compromise the
education system in the province. We also recommended that next time
we go to the Eastern Cape the department of education led by the MEC
and the head of the department and the high officials of the
department make themselves available when the support committee has
come to do oversight. Chairperson, I submit the report for adoption.
Thank you [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Question put: that the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: On a point of order, Chairperson.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Why
are you standing, hon Mokgosi?
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Ms N P MOKGOSI: Where is Ginger; because we can‘t wait for Ginger?
Ginger must wait for us because he report to us and we don‘t report
to him.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi):
Order, hon members! Can you take your seat? Order, members!
Unfortunately you are addressing what I don‘t even understand. I did
not call any speaker now. Order, members!
Hon members, I am reliably informed that as you know that they are
dealing with the votes on the other House; so they were voting. So,
let us also have a comfort break for five minutes then.
Business suspended at 14:31 and resumed at 14:36.
The MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Hon House Chair, I was
told as I was coming here that there are people who call me certain
names. Those who call me certain names, myself and them will have a
conversation out of the House. Chairperson of the NCOP, hon members
of the NCOP, my Deputy Minister, Thabethe, Director-General, Prof
Edith Vries and the rest of the staff who are here today, Small
Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa, and Small Enterprise Development
Agency, Seda, executives who are here, ladies and gentlemen.
[Interjections.]
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon
Minister, sorry, can you please take your seat? Hon Smit, why are
you ... [Interjections.]
Mr C F B SMIT: Hon House Chair, I am really concerned because the
last time the hon Minister had a conversation on that topic outside,
there was a big trouble ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): No,
that‘s not a point of order, take your seat. Continue hon Minister.
The MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: The hon member mustn‘t
worry; it will be a very peaceful conversation. Chairperson, in
economic theory, a market failure typically describes a situation
where the market‘s allocation of goods, services and opportunities
is not efficient. It is essentially when free markets fail to afford
all that deserve it, the freedom to participate meaningfully in
economic activity. Given the high failure rate of small businesses,
we must be honest and admit that small business support and
development is a market failure in South Africa. That is to say, the
market does not allow those who deserve it, the freedom to access
economic opportunities in an environment which nurtures and develops
their talent.
The National Development Plan, NDP, describes the South African
economy as oligopolistic. Oligopolistic economies are generally
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characterised by a few firms who greatly influence access to markets
by controlling prices and distribution channels. Small businesses
are not a priority in these economies types. Hon Chairperson, this
has to change.
Chairperson, Statistics SA, 2016, quarter 1, Quarterly Labour Force
Survey observes that unemployment now registers at 26,7%. The
Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, 2015, revised growth down to
1,5% in 2015 and 1,7% in 2016. Others such as the International
Monetary Fund, IMF, have forecasted even lower growth. A radical
intervention is required. We believe that, the intervention is
already identified in the NDP as the development and support of
small business.
Since the proclamation of this department by the President Jacob
Zuma, in July 2014, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we
affirm, strengthen and give voice to the Small, Medium and Micro
Enterprises, SMMEs, sector while we grapple with forming a new
department. Hon members will recall that the department was formed
through the migration of a branch in the Department of Trade and
Industry called Broadening Participation. That branch had a Budget
of around R1 billion. This is actually the allocation for our fullyfledged department and we are working towards ensuring that that
also changes. The department was initiated with a staff complement
of one hundred and twenty-five and has seen a small increase to one
hundred and sixty-five which mainly covers the ministry and a
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skeleton administration.
Hon members will agree that this staff complement is far below what
is required to deliver our mandate effectively in all provinces and
municipalities. More resources must be dedicated to the small
business mandate if we are to meet the 2030 NDP target of 90% of
11 million jobs being created by SMMEs.
Chairperson, indications are that the small business sector is
beginning to take its rightful place as the engine for our economy.
This was recently confirmed by the landmark 2016 tax collection
success in which the South African Revenue Services, Sars, broke
through the R1 trillion ceiling. The tax authority has reported that
more than 18 000 new SMMEs had for the first time submitted tax
returns. Naturally, growth in future revenue is dependent on us
upscaling government interventions coupled with sharpened awareness
for more people to be involved in entrepreneurship, start-ups, SMMEs
and co-operatives and the private sector are just as important.
We remain convinced that if we are to sustain the growth and
development of SMMEs and co-operatives, we need to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach across all spheres of government.
In this regard, I have called on national and provincial authorities
to strengthen co-operative governance. I have also consistently
invited MECs responsible for economic and small business development
to join me in my engagements in provinces and municipalities and we
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are beginning to see the concrete manifestations of these efforts.
We have met and shared ideas with some MECs responsible for economic
development. In Gauteng, we learnt that the MEC‘s department
profiled 65 townships, which informed their Township Revitalisation
Strategy. In the Free State, we learnt that they aligned their
strategy to the Nine-Point Plan announced by the President in 2016.
So, when they align the Nine-Point Plan, it means they also are
conscious of the fact that, small and medium enterprises forms part
of the Nine-Point Plan as unlocking the potential for small and
medium enterprises.
Hon members, occasions such as these are moments to reflect on the
road travelled, to account in line with the commitments we made and
to ponder the long distance that still lies ahead of us. As promised
in last year's Budget Speech, we have completed the programme
review. The review sought to align inherited programmes to our
mandate and to ensure that they respond to the challenges
confronting small businesses and co-operatives. The recommendations
thereof, ranged from upscaling, mainstreaming, discontinuing and
transferring. These recommendations were then interrogated by the
department, which then took the appropriate action. The
implementation process is on-going. And I would like to say to you
hon members that while this implementation is on-going, there are
areas that need special attention which we are dealing with such as
South African Women Entrepreneurs Network, Sawen, for instance.
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Chairperson, you will recall that last year, we also announced that
we were working with Treasury for the issuing of a Practice Note to
implement the 30% set-aside public procurement programme. It has
been established that the implementation of this transformative
policy shift requires an amendment to the Preferential Procurement
Policy Framework Act, PPPFA. Since this legislative review will take
a longer time to complete, National Treasury, announced in December
2015, their intent to amend the PPPFA regulations of 2011 to open
more opportunities for small businesses. And for us in the
Department Of Small Business Development, we say this must happen. I
would like to say the reason why this is also delaying it is because
there are those that are screaming left, right and centre that it is
unconstitutional and yet we believe. Not supporting black people in
particular is also unconstitutional.
Last year, on 26 May 2015, when we addressed this House, we reported
that we had concluded provincial consultations with five provinces,
namely: Mpumalanga; Kwazulu-Natal; North West; Eastern Cape and Free
State. We enumerated the issues that had been raised by the business
communities we found in the provinces. Issues raised ranged from
incubation support, to the co-location of government support
services, more accessible financial instruments to market access. I
can report that we have meaningfully engaged the remaining four
provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Western Cape and Northern Cape. We
are happy to announce that the Gauteng Provincial Government has
adopted the Gauteng Informal Business Upliftment Strategy, derived
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from the National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy we announced
here last year. Work is ongoing to further align the national
strategy with provincial strategies.
In Limpopo we are piloting the New Generation Co-operatives in
Nwanedi village in partnership with the government of the
Netherlands - we also go international. These Co-operatives involves
equal partnership with an established farmer and fifteen smallholder
farmers. Together with the municipality, we are finalising the
provision of business infrastructure for informal businesses in
Vhembe district. We will ensure that we bring back dignity to the
spaces in which our people trade. The Western Cape will benefit from
the transversal agreement the department has entered into with the
Department of Public Enterprises.
This agreement focuses on the inclusion of small businesses and cooperatives in the supply chains of State Owned Enterprises, SOEs. As
such, Transnet will ensure that the mandate to create economic
opportunities for SMMEs is integral to the R9 billion developments
in Saldanah Bay where we have established a small business hub.
In Khayelitsha, as part of the Informal Traders Upliftment
Programme, we have trained and provided equipment to micro
enterprises at Vuyani Meat Market; by the way we also went to this
market and make sure we are part and parcel of cleaning up the
place. In partnership with the Khayelitsha Development Forum, we
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will be assisting co-operatives to pilot a bulk buying and
warehousing solution for primary retailers.
We continue to engage the Northern Cape and hope to find specific
areas of partnership and collaboration in the future. And I am aware
that we have been a little bit slow in reaching out them but we
promised them that they are not out of our sight. We appreciate the
support we have received from provinces and we are indeed encouraged
by the shared vision of ushering in a more inclusive economy.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency, Seda, continues to
demonstrate remarkable success in assisting potential and existing
enterprises and co-operatives. The agency‘s client journey model,
which is long-term and outcomes oriented has resulted in about 74%
of assisted clients indicating that their turnover had increased
following Seda‘s interventions and 51% indicating that they now
employ more people – it‘s about creating jobs. Seda partners with
numerous organisations that offer complimentary services both in
financial and nonfinancial support. This enables the entity to
provide a comprehensive support service to small enterprise and cooperatives. The 10 679 clients that received Seda interventions
during the 2015-2016 financial year, together with the ones from
previous years who continue to receive support, have created a pool
of entrepreneurs that can make a contribution to the country‘s
socioeconomic growth and in the main, economic transformation.
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The department and Seda hosted the inaugural Southern African
Business Incubation Conference, with the Deputy President delivering
the keynote address. The main objective of the conference is for
Seda to lead a dialogue on aligning the incubation ecosystem in the
country. An alignment of the ecosystem is very important because you
find that while we are also as a department trying to do a lot of
work around incubation, you also find that the private sector does a
lot of incubation and we think that that these incubations must also
speak to the needs of small and medium enterprises and not just be a
show for those who want to show how much money they have spent on
black people in particular.
Chairperson, I am pleased to inform you that R15 billion has been
disbursed to priority provinces in terms of Sefa‘s developmental
focus. This reflects our strategic focus to concentrate our loan
programme activities in under-served provinces. These provinces are
Northern Cape, Free State, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and
North West. For the past three years, 2013-14 to 2015-16 financial
years, Sefa has supported: 21 079 SMMEs and co-operatives to the
value of R228 million in the Eastern Cape; 1 420 SMMEs and cooperatives to the value of R277 million in the Free State; 1537
SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of R958 million in Gauteng;
6 O28 SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of R289 million in KZN;
55 718 SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of R458 million in
Limpopo; 368 SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of R53 million in
the Northern Cape; 9 220 SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of
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R295 million in the Western Cape - don‘t say we are discriminating,
we are not; 35 841 SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of
R381 million in Mpumalanga; and 25 957 SMMEs and co-operatives to
the value of R198 million in the North West.
The loan programme support has resulted in the following
developmental impact: 141 303 black-owned SMMEs and co-operatives
were financed to the value of R2,4 billion; 37 274 youth-owned SMMEs
and co-operatives were financed to the value of R724 million; and
152 992 women-owned SMMEs and co-operatives were finance to the
value of R1,3 billion. These funding initiatives have resulted in
the creation and facilitation of at least 130 000 new jobs over the
aforesaid period.
Our Black Business Supplier Development Programme continues to make
impact on provinces. During the last financial year: 244 small
businesses in Gauteng received R106 million through this programme;
in Limpopo, R31 million; in Mpumalanga, R27 million; in the North
West, R8 million; in the Northern Cape, R2 million; in the Free
State, R3 million; in Kwazulu-Natal, 157 enterprises about
R80 million; Eastern Cape, 63 SMMEs received R29 million; and in the
Western Cape, an amount of R14 million went to 34 enterprises.
Our Co-operative Incentive Scheme, CIS, programme has benefitted cooperatives across provinces. During the financial year, the CIS
support in provinces is as follows: In the Eastern Cape, 50 projects
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received R16,2 million; in Gauteng, 62 projects received
R18,9 million; in KZN, 21 projects received R6,5 million; in
Limpopo, 59 projects received R18,7 million; in Mpumalanga, 20
projects benefited to the tune of R5,7 million; in the North West,
26 projects received R8,074 million.
We are determined to increase the CIS footprint in the Free State,
North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
The National Gazelles Programme, as one of our flagship programmes,
was launched in September 2015. The first 40 national gazelles and
the remaining 160 have been selected from 507 qualifying entrants
who had successfully completed the application process. They come
from key sectors such as manufacturing, ICT, energy and the green
economy; health and bio-sciences, and energy. The importance of the
gazelles programme is that it is post start-up initiative. So, you
can see that our small and medium enterprises are also focusing in
the future.
The Women-in-Maize programme is another of our flagships and a
concrete example of the benefits of a partnership between government
and the private sector. Working together with the South African
Breweries-Miller, SABMiller, and the Agriculture Research Council,
ARC, the project seeks to empower 5 O00 women maize farming cooperatives in the next five years.
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The initiative will increase the inclusion of black women-owned cooperatives in SAB‗s supply chain; develop skills of women farmers;
improve food security; and stimulate local economies by increasing
procurement from local suppliers. I wish hon members, to take this
opportunity to invite those of you who can make it, to join me on 26
May at eKangala in Gauteng, to witness the first harvest.
During the last financial year we continued to rollout the centre
for entrepreneurship in provinces - KZN, at the Durban University of
Technology and Orbit Technical and Vocational Education and Training
in Rustenburg, North West. These two centres are part of an effort
by the department to develop and support entrepreneurs from the
existing institutions and surrounding communities. The KZN one will
focus on the clothing, textile, leather and footwear sector and the
North West will focus on the electrical engineering field. One of
the challenges we face that are faced by small businesses is the
issue of red tape.
We remain seized with the task of easing regulatory and bureaucratic
burdens on the shoulders of small businesses. We must proceed from
the premise that good policies, laws and regulations are conducive
to a competitive economy. However, some policies or compliance
processes may have the unintended consequences of weakening the
business ecosystem.
During the 2015-16 financial year, the Department of Small Business
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Development continued with the roll-out of red tape reduction
guidelines at municipal level with 81 municipalities. We established
a partnership with the International Labour Organisation, ILO, to
assess the implementation of the guidelines within four
municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces. Our goal
is to ease and ultimately reduce the cost of doing business.
Last year, we made a commitment in this House that we would continue
to work with local and foreign traders – we don‘t want the conflict
that continues, who are operating in the informal sector to ensure
peaceful and competitive co-existence. I am pleased to announce
that, working with all stakeholders, I recently witnessed the
signing of a co-operation agreement between South African Spaza and
Tuckshop Association, Sasta. And these hon members, we are very
conscious of the fact that signing a document and dealing with the
issues on the ground are two things. We call upon you to also work
with us on it. The department and its partners are implementing the
National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy. The programme which
has successfully implemented across all nine provinces, with 1037
informal traders and their organisations has received training and
infrastructure support. We will be upscaling this programme going
forward and this year we will support 7000 informal traders because
we believe that Ms Mhlongo and Ms Mkhize and other who are selling
outside in the streets also need the attention of government.
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The department has been allocated R1,3 billion for the 2016-17
financial year. On this allocation only 9% goes to administration
and the rest goes to core business. This is what we would like to
see, more money in hands of small businesses and in particular, the
black businesses.
We have introduced a scientific approach to tracking development. In
pursuit of this, the department has created Policy and Research
Branch, headed by a Deputy Director-General. This is a very
significant development in ensuring that my department plays its
coordinating role. The Black Business Supplier Development is
allocated R245 million and for the CIS we have allocated
R75 million. For National Informal Business Upliftment Scheme, we
allocated R96 million and the Enterprise Incubation Programme is
allocated R46 million. For the Craft sector we have allocated
R10 million, which is not enough but we are going there.
Seda has been allocated R634 million, to drive nonfinancial support
to small businesses and co-operatives. Sefa has been allocated a
Budget of R1 billion of which R213 million comes directly from the
fiscus and the balance comes from the IDC. The Business Rescue
Strategy will be implemented for small businesses in distress - many
of our black businesses are in distress, which will help to reduce
the mortality rate. The department is working with Sefa on the
modalities of developing and implementing the strategy. An initial
investment, R84 million has been set aside for this initiative.
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We are implementing the Enterprise Incubation Programme, EIP, as a
pilot programme during this financial year. The objective is to
support the establishment of new business incubators and for the
growth and expansion of existing incubators. It will offer
incubation for small businesses and co-operatives with potential but
limited technical and business skills and expertise, to be mentored
so that they can take advantage of market opportunities.
From a legislative point of view, between January and February 2016,
we conducted the first round of provincial stakeholder consultations
on the amendment of the National Small Business ... – well, I can
just simply say that what is important for us is looking into the
legislative programme which also includes the Co-operatives
Amendment Act and all the Acts that, we think need to be looked into
so that we can be able to ensure that the legislation that we have
is legislation that is conducive for small and medium enterprises. I
thank you Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr B G NTHEBE: Hon chair, the Chairperson of the NCOP, hon
Ministers, members of the House, special delegates, and
distinguished guests. Hon Minister, I want to start by
congratulating a young lady who two days ago was standing by the
robots with the big cardboard on her chests written, that she is a
Chemical Engineer B-Tech graduate and she is pleading for
employment. This morning SASOL has taken her in and we want to thank
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them. [Applause.] With this budget we want to influence so many
Malwandla Hadebes so that they may begin to blossom.
The reality in South Africa today hon Minister is that, if you take
a woman and empower her, you are clothing, feeding and creating
shelter for 17 other people in various communities. Hon Chair, if
global trends are anything to go by, then hon Minister, South
Africa‘s hope is pinned on you together with your team of dedicated
men and women. One might be tempted to suggest that you are
overzealous or over optimistic about the targets that you presented
to us as the select committee. And the expectations are going to be
difficult to meet, but we can draw courage from the ancient tigers
that more than 90% of the economic growth in those countries was
driven by co-operatives and small business. This is something that
you cannot contest.
In Brazil 96% of the working people are found in small business
sector similarly in India. Hon Minister, 69 million jobs were
created from such sector with leading to it contributing 11, 5% of
the Gross Domestic Product, GDP. With the global trends littered
with such classical examples, we are hopeful that we are in the
right course. We further recognise the reality that consistent with
the intent of the NDP, we possess untapped potential of delivering
the targeted 5, 4 growth and the required 11 million jobs in 2013 as
per requirement and objectives of the NDP. This can only happen if
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we channel co-operatives and SMMEs into the main stream of the
economy as per mandate of the department.
We welcome the commitment of support towards 1570 co-operatives
through co-operatives incentive scheme over the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework, MTEF. We think that it will go a long way in
assisting us. Over the MTEF 5000 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises
will be supported through the Black Business Development Programme.
This should be the focal area hon Minister because this is where we
are going to be able to empower our own people. Your commitment to
this target is clearer when we see the largest spending focus over
the medium term being the transfers and subsidies to the range of 3,
7 billion - comprising 84, 7% of the department‘s budget.
An amount of R2, 2 billion of 51% of the total funding is earmarked
for Small Enterprise Development Agency for non financial support
services and incubation. Incubation brings comfort hon Minister
because it speaks to the intent to create sustainable development.
We don‘t build companies to allow them to also collapse; there must
be value for money and investment. This is what SASOL has done, a
week or two ago Minister, 70 million dedicated to Mpumalanga for
incubation. We think that we can be able to tap into that
possibility of making strides. We want our own people to tap into
the possibility of growth provided for by the budget allocated to
SEDA. SEDA will spend 1, 3 billion supporting SMMEs and we happy
about this development.
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Hon Minister in 2014, Global Entrepreneur Monitoring also attributed
SMME collapse to lack of access to finance and poor profitability
due to business skills and market intelligence deficits. And this is
what we have touched on around issues of the township economies, how
our people over the years have been able to sustain themselves.
Financial muscle is not a silver bullet to SMME success but remains
critical with this budget such a loophole will be closed. We want to
salute the Brian Molefe led Eskom and the entire board, for standing
proud and boldly announcing last week that we shall not go through
load shedding again. And this honourable Minister is good news to
SMMEs and co-operatives because power disruptions cause them
irreparable harm. Continue to make us proud Brian Molefe in Eskom.
We would want to hear people talking about cadre development so that
we can be able to see what it is that they want to rise.
The Infrastructural development under the armpit of the Presidential
Infrastructural Co-ordinating Commission, creates a basis for sound
economic growth for your departmental work. We applaud that effort
because we think it is also assisting. Hon Minister, I said this
yesterday that 70% of our African women are farmers, you empower a
woman you empower the whole nation. An amount of R846 million
allocated to women business deserves a round of applause.
[Applause.]Our own women must be given financial sustainability. A
sum of R449 million allocated for youth owned businesses is a
commitment we should celebrate. We think this is going to assist us.
A sum of R1, 5 billion for black businesses is a long way to go.
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Hon Minister, we want to also celebrate those who wake up in the
middle of the night and go to what we call invincible market trying
to create subsistence possibility and sometimes it is difficult. And
as we celebrate greatness, let‘s celebrate the courage of informal
traders like one lady called Mma Mary who is selling fresh food
right on the gate of BMW factory in Rosslyn. She is selling a plate
of food at the selling price of R35, 00 and makes R25, 000 per
month. And this is a woman who is able to send her kids to school;
she is able to provide for the family needs but she is not in a
mainstream of economy to be able to be completive in the market. We
think that what you said in your presentation of the budget speech
will go a long way in assisting such people.
We also have Millicent Nyembe who runs Nyembe Waste Management. She
specialises in crime scene cleaning and transportation of healthcare
risk waste. This is a sector that has not been able to be
transformed over the years and when we see young women entering this
sector we become ecstatic that we are able to be move in the right
direction. Hon Mokgosi is pestering me to talk about issues that are
happening. If you go to Moruleng mall now which is one of the first
malls to be built in a rural village, right in the middle of the
North West. [Interjections.] You have an enterprise shop there run
by a black woman, supported by small business department. And this
is something that should be celebrated. [Applause.]
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Hon Chair, we continue to celebrate greatness, zeal and
determination. Our people right in the bundus have mastered the art
of building and sustaining what the academic friends call the
invincible market - the market that is unregulated market of our
people which has built and sustained our people since time and
memorial. This department must assist our people to move from
subsistence to sustainability. We are saying this hon Minister so
that you don‘t find hon Makue right in the periphery of the
periphery, right in the village. He is known to be one of the best
role model of a business person in that village. But hon Makue has
not been able to have market penetration over the years. This is
where your department will be able to assist in the co-ordinating
efforts to make sure that hon Makue will be able have his product.
We must demystify this perception that is there in our own people
that people in rural village and township are just consumers of
goods and services.
We must begin to be producers so that we are able to be in the front
line of production. That production must be able to trigle further
into productivity for our own people so that they move along. Move
along from subsistence to sustainability. We think that these are
issues that we must be able to address and with this budget
Minister, we are quite comforted that it‘s going to be able to
assist us to become inclusive. We are going to enter the sectors
that are not transformed. We are also going to assist young members
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that don‘t listen like hon Mokgosi to also learn that possibilities
are there for them, [Interjections.] so that we can move along.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Modulasetilo, ke kopa gore o bolelele motl Nthebe a
seka a mpitsa ... [Chairperson, could you please ask hon Nthebe to
stop calling me...]
... a young member; I am a wife, a mother and a leader. In this
House we are equals. [Interjections.] We are all hon members, so I
am asking hon Nthebe to withdraw the statement that I am a young
member. [Interjections.]
Mr B G NTHEBE: I don‘t have a problem Chair; I withdraw hon Mokgosi,
as a senior citizen, [Laughter.] [Interjections.] You must be able
to know...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon
Nthebe allow me to make a ruling first. Yes you must refer to hon
Mokgosi as a hon member. Thank you, hon Nthebe.
Mr B G NTHEBE: Chair, just for the purpose of Hansard recording, I
said hon Mokgosi as a young member. [Interjections.] So the issue of
calling her honourable was always there but as a senior citizen hon
Mokgosi, [Laughter.] it will assist you so that you become
impatient, [Interjections.] You ...
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon
Nthebe, you can‘t speak directly to hon Mokgosi.
Mr B G NTHEBE: Chair, it will assist the senior citizen hon member
that she becomes patient so that she understands the gist, the
spirit and the intent of the budget speech presented. Thus that we
can assist and build people like Malwandla Hadebe who could be able
to ...
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Nthebe o tswelela go ipitsa mogolo, jaanong ke batla
go itse gore a a re nna ke mmotlana? A itlhalose mme fa a re go ntse
jalo a kgone go gogela mafoko ao kwa morago. [Tsenoganong.] [Nthebe
continues to call himself a senior, therefore, I would like to know
whether he is saying I am a junior and if that is the case, he must
withdraw. [Interjections.]]
He must not undermine my intelligence.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon
Mokgosi can you take your seat? Allow me to make a ruling. That is
not a point of order. Thank you, hon Nthebe.
Mr B G NTHEBE: Chair, I have 59 seconds left.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: COMMITTEES AND OVERSIGHT (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon
Mokgosi can you take your seat? Conclude hon Nthebe.
18 MAY 2016
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Mr B G NTHEBE: Chair, I was saying that we need to create a nation
of greatness Minister. Let us be a nation of people who are
optimistic, who thinks like Malwandla Hadebe. Who can be able to
stand up and say, possibilities are there, they are in abundance
however, we must be able to rise above and be able to tap on such
possibilities. We are creating a nation of greatness. We will not
create it by becoming pessimistic. We will create it by standing
united and create a level of greatness. So let go out and blossom
Minister, we concur, we support the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Ms B ENGELBRECHT: Hon Chair, hon Minister and Members, I want to
thank you for the opportunity to participate in this crucial debate
as small businesses should be the driving force in our economy.
Two years ago, we were told that the Minister and her department is
brand new baby and that it will take some time to find their feet
granted. Last year, we heard the Minister saying and I quote:
After a year in office, we are confident that we have a fuller
grasp and understanding of our mandate.
We shall lead and be the commanding voice for small businesses and
co-operatives within government.
Last year‗s statement was encouraging and we waited with abated
breath for small business to receive its rightful place in the
economy. Instead, a year later this department has hardly made an
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impact on the economy with insignificant progress in terms of
stimulating growth and creating jobs. Lack of strategy and no clear
leadership.
This in a scenario with 8,9 million people unemployed and small
businesses continuing to suffer from over-regulations and unkept
promises and against a backdrop of the falling contribution of small
and medium enterprises, SMEs to the economy as reported by
Statistics SA.
In the select committee, the Minister poured cold water on our
expectations when she said that the budget of R4.3 billion is
inadequate. It seemed that she started off by making excuses, laying
the groundwork to justify her comments when she failed yet again –
not because of ineffective management... [Interjections.]
Ms T WANA: Chairperson, through you, can the speaker who sits with
me in the same committee take a question? Thank you.
THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Engelbrecht, will you take a
question?
Ms B ENGELBRECHT: After the sitting. Thank you Chair.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: After the sitting. Will you please
continue?
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Ms B ENGELBRECHT: ... Minister, we ask you, why is the National
Gazelles Programme in the Minister‘s department struggling to get
R100 million to support small business while the Department of Trade
and Industry, DTI,‘s Black Industrialists Programme has been
promised R21 billion?
The DA has been calling for an entrepreneur fund for the past three
years and welcomes the announcement of such an entrepreneur fund, to
boost growth and increase employment opportunities. At last,
government is listening with initial funding of up to R3 billion
injected on a 50/50 basis and targeting high growth businesses like
the Gazelles Programme. However, We find it interesting that this
fund is being set up under the watchful eye of the Minister of
Finance, Mr P Gordhan, a private-sector driven programme, thus
bypassing the Minister and raising questions of how the department
will interact with the fund.
A year ago, the DA advocated that Small Enterprise Development
Agency, Seda, and Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa, be merged
to create a single point of entry for small business support at a
national level.
Finally, with the formation of the new entrepreneur fund and a good
mix of grants, loans and equity finance, backed up by mentorship
support, and widely distributed through approved retail channels,
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the new fund can play a role in the informal and micro enterprise
sector by funding badly needed infrastructure.
It must support promising start-ups as well as high-growth potential
businesses, to stimulate the entire entrepreneur pipeline. Just as
important, this fund can help big companies integrate small
businesses into their supply chains by providing working capital.
The DA trusts that big business will get firmly behind this fund as
the growing and inclusive economy will come from targeted lending
and equity investment. Opening up market linkages, to new and
innovative suppliers improving competitiveness in these sectors.
Hon Minister, you are not a new born baby anymore, you have started
walking and now it is time to start running this department in order
for us to see results. This department has already through its
planning, focussed on the policy changes that is required to achieve
an increase in the growth of small business. These businesses will
rightfully be the biggest contributor to job creation and driving
down our unemployment rate.
Hon Minister, I need to quote something for you that says:
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with
much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be
dishonest with much.
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You have been trusted with much. You have been trusted with the
Ministry. You have been trusted with R4,3 billion. You have been
trusted to reduce the unemployment. You have been trusted by this
government. You have been trusted with the lives and hopes of the
poor and unemployed.
So please Minister, start leading. Make yourself heard and start
fighting for the 8,9 million unemployed people that have lost hope
faith.
The hopelessly unemployed fathers, who have to provide for their
families, the cries of mothers whose children go to bed with an
empty stomach, the unemployed youth who out of desperation resort to
Nyaope. These people deserve better.
I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr E MAKUE: Hon Chairperson, Members, hon Minister Lindiwe Zulu,
Deputy Minister hon Thabethe I was sitting there waiting for hon
Engelbrecht to say something and suddenly she stopped. I am still
waiting.
It is the ANC that recognised the importance of Small Business and
Cooperatives in creating sustainable jobs for all people of our
country. When the ANC recognises a matter as important as jobs for
people we find a way of making it happen. We developed policies,
within the constitutional framework and are implementing such
policies.
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Within the context of the global economic situation the ANC
acknowledge that the formal employment sector alone is unable to
create sufficient jobs. We are the first to emphasise that big
business and government has a major contribution to make in the
creation of conducive conditions for employment and sustainable
decent jobs for all our people. Therefore, concerted undertakings
have been made by business and government to find creative ways of
demonstrating our commitment to small, micro and medium enterprises,
SMMEs, and cooperatives.
The Department of Small Business Development, DSBD, has been
established as a separate department of government, after serious
analysis and careful consideration, because the ANC cares for our
people and their economic well-being. If hon Schaffer was here she
would again be reminding us that we must form one department that
deals with economic matters. No, because of the importance and the
potential of small businesses we decided as this ANC led government
to establish a separate department of small business development.
This decision is further supported by scientific evidence that small
businesses and co-operatives create jobs for millions of people.
Thus the mandate of the Department of Small Businesses and
Development, DSBD, is that the department will lead an integrated
approach to the promotion and development of small businesses and
co-operatives through a focus on the economic and legislative
drivers that stimulate entrepreneurship to contribute to radical
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economic transformation. It is integrated. When the department of
the Treasury is dealing with it, it doesn‘t mean that we are as the
Department of Small Businesses and Development going to compete with
them, we complement each other‘s work.
The approval of the Budget before us today shall make a radical and
fundamental difference in the lives of millions of our people and
also on millions of households. It is shocking, irresponsible, but
not surprising to know that some opposition parties in this house
will vote against this budget. The ANC is not surprised when
opposition parties vote against this budget, because we have seen
how they neglect the interests and aspirations of our people, while
they attempt to score political points.
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, I would like to know if the hon speaker
would take a question.
Mr E MAKUE: Hon Faber is serving with me in the select committee so,
what I know he should know as well. So, I find it strange that he
wants to ask me question. No Chair. He can raise it with me in the
select committee.
We in the ANC take all South Africans seriously, even hon Faber. We
are a government of the people. As we proudly proclaim in the
Freedom Charter that ―the people shall govern!" We in the ANC want
all South Africans to observe how certain opposition parties choose
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to promote and protect the interests of the rich, while they neglect
and ignore the interests and aspirations of the poor.
The ANC supports the DSBD Budget and the Annual Performance Plan,
APP, because it is focused on support for growing SMMEs; greater
return on investments and the establishment of Black industrialists.
The intention is therefore, not only to support small business and
let them remain small, but as hon Nthebe said to enable small
businesses to become part of the main stream economy. That is within
the strategic plans of the Department of Small Businesses and
Development.
A further reason for the ANC‘s support of the Department of Small
Businesses and Development and Annual Performance Plan is that it is
a game changer with regard to poverty alleviation. Poverty will be
reduced and eventually eradicated when the Department of Small
Businesses and Development focuses on micro and informal
enterprises, prioritizing sustainable livelihoods for the poorest in
our society including rural areas and priority groups like women,
youth and people with disabilities.
The Department of Small Businesses and Development is committed to
its mandate and shall focus resources on the areas of greatest need.
In so doing poverty shall have a lower impact. There shall be lower
unemployment and a multiplier impact benefitting the poor, the
underemployed as well as the unemployed.
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In the state of the nation address our President, His Excellency Mr
Jacob Zuma referred to the triple challenges of unemployment,
poverty and inequality. The National Development Plan, NDP;
Vision 2030 is developed on the basis that South Africa needs an
economy that is more inclusive, more dynamic and in which the fruits
of growth are shared more equitably. The NDP builds on the New
Growth Path, NGP, that aims to create 5 million jobs by 2020 and
bring about a new more inclusive, labour-intensive and efficient
economy.
As we engage in this debate we do it on the basis of sound and
tested policies of this ANC led government. We also engage in this
debate mindful that our policies are supported by the private
sector. Team South Africa, who are, like the ANC, concerned about
the present economic situation and earnestly searching with great
responsibility for innovative ways of making South Africa a better
place for all, is committed to put its money where its mouth is. It
is prepared to ‗walk the talk‘. I am talking here about big business
in South Africa partnering with government.
The Department of Small Businesses and Development has transversal
agreements with other departments. Let me repeat it; it has
transversal agreements with other departments of government.
Together with its sound Inter-Governmental Relations, IGR, the
department also established relations with strategic stakeholders in
the construction industry.
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Some of the achievements of the Department of Small Businesses and
Development are 136 co-operatives received training in management,
governance and bookkeeping. Unlike the DA who holds the election
rally at the Rand stadium in Gauteng and only make promises, the
Department of Small Businesses and Development has delivered.
Market access has been facilitated for 230 craft enterprises; 144
were provided with product development support and 102 participated
in enterprise development programmes. Eighteen co-location points
have been established. Nineteen youth enterprises and 52 women
enterprises were supported through the Cooperative Incentive Scheme.
Two incubators were launched in December 2015 for jewellery in the
Northern Cape and for catering and baking in Gauteng. A total of
40 581 SMMEs and co-operative enterprises have been financed through
The Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa, an entity within the
Department of Small Businesses and Development.
It is interesting when one makes certain comments how the members of
the House who the shoe fits would respond to it. When we mention the
lack of interest for the black people of this country it will be the
DA that responds to it because they are only interested in black
boats. The black electorate of South Africa are no fools. They can
see through you. This is because in your election manifesto –
members of the DA – there is nothing that speaks to small business
development. Don‘t come to this podium and pretend that you do
because it is not there. The Department of Small Businesses and
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Development is moving South Africa forward. Therefore, the ANC is
proud to support this budget. I thank you.
Cllr J RADEMEYER: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Minister and
members, hon Chair of the National House of Traditional Leaders,
ladies and gentlemen. Chairperson, I would like to ask for a minute
just to acknowledge the presence of my own constituency head, the
hon Thandi Mpambo-Sibhukwana, it is really an honour for me to be
here today in the same Chamber as she normally appears.
We, from South African Local Government Association, Salga, would
first like to acknowledge the direction that the Minister has
brought to this portfolio and which she has demonstrated in this
year‘s budget speech ... [Intejections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Councillor Rademeyer, please take your
seat. Hon ... why are you disturbing the member?
Ms T G MPAMBO-SIBHUKWANA: My apologies. Chairperson, hon Dlamini
calls me ―this one‖ can she please withdraw that and call me
appropriately according to the decorum of this House? Thank you.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you ma‘am. Hon Dlamini, can you
please withdraw ―this one‖ and refer to the hon member as hon
member? [Interjections.] Please, just withdraw ma‘am.
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[Interjections.] Hon Dlamini! I have a speaker who must be on the
podium.
Ms L C DLAMINI: I withdraw. [Laughter.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: She has withdrawn ma‘am. Councillor,
please proceed.
Cllr J RADEMEYER: In a complex economy as ours with great strides in
creasing employment and deducing poverty have been made and yet
plagued with a growing inequality gap, it is encouraging to witness
such deliberate and target support for Small, Medium and Micro-sized
Enterprises, SMMEs, in both the formal and informal sector and cooperatives as vulnerable and yet critical role players in the growth
of our economy.
The department has demonstrated versatility in the plaguing of leaks
in our economy and restoring hope that indeed the people shall share
in the economy of our country. We further wish to acknowledge our
member municipalities who, despite being faced with responding to
varying community needs, have valiantly heeded the call to
contribute to the rollout of innovative solutions towards creating
enabling environments for business and expansion at all levels.
We do have good stories to tell in South Africa, such as the story
of the Amahlathi Local Municipality wherein the process of
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regenerating the town began implementing solutions to stimulate SMME
development in the furniture industry through the Abenzi Woodhouse
training and incubation facility and further ensuring informal
traders operate in dignified conditions within reach of their
targeted foot traffic.
Just this very morning I visited a small factory in Willington, my
hometown, where the most beautiful leather articles are manufactured
by local labour in exactly such a dignified environment. Stories of
our metro municipalities who are considered as international good
practice cases in managing informality and promoting inclusive
economies and are celebrated by the continental and regional
organisations such as the Local Economic Development, LED, Network
for Africa and United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, UCLGA.
There are many more good stories generated over the past 15 years or
so in local government development. Across our nine provinces,
stories anchored by innovation, partnerships and local government‘s
commitment to promoting socioeconomic development of its communities
within its financial constraints which are many.
We are thus pleased that the department is playing a critical role
in nurturing and optimising the sector beyond what has been
attempted over time. The legislative programme as organised local
government we are proponents of the developmental approach towards
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SMMEs for both formal and informal sectors and are pleased to note
the role of the department in taking leading reform.
We wish to applaud the department for employing a collaborative
approach to legislative reform to optimise the role of SMMEs that
they can play in the growth of our economy. We believe that the
collaborative approach adopted by the department will enable us as
the three spheres of government to ensure a seamless and integrated
approach to the implementation of policy and legislative
imperatives.
We also trust that these efforts will facilitate greater cohesion
with the broader private sector and traditional authorities. Cooperatives and SMMEs as the drivers of our economy, indeed SMMEs and
co-operatives can be key drivers of economic growth, poverty
reduction and job creation. In addition, the commendable efforts
such as up skilling, improving access to finance and red tape
reduction, we need to devise innovative means to stretch the breadth
of the playing field of such competitive and innovative stance.
The ability of SMMEs to scale up production, volumes and quality are
critical to their progressive growth and ability to leverage
existing policy enablers such as the anticipated amended
Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, PPPFA, and
regulations as mentioned by the Minister earlier. In a rapidly
changing and digitalised world, we also need to ensure that SMMEs
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have access to the relevant tools and technologies at a competitive
scale and cost.
Co-operative governance is one of the department‘s efforts to ensure
coherence and broad based participation in the review of key
legislation affecting this sector and has been exceptional up to
this point. We wish to encourage the same measure of excellence in
ensuring continued partnership with local government to ensure that
the information, services and programmes run by the department are
conveniently accessible to the targeted users. As we well know that
municipalities, as the sphere closest to communities, are
organically the first point of call or enquiry for citizens on all
matters relating to government. Citizens do not differentiate
between spheres of governments and or its mandates.
We wish to applaud the public and private financial commitments made
to strengthen SMMEs and co-operatives even in the midst of austerity
such as we are currently experiencing. This truly signals intended
commitment to engineer inclusive growth and bring us closer to being
the healthy society we desire to be. As the department engages
organised business in determining the mechanisms for rolling out the
fund, we trust that the needs of SMMEs will also be considered
against the differentiated contexts they operate in and strike a
balance in our responses to optimising ―Kasinomics‖ and I was
informed that this informal economy – a very nice word – and the
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positioning of small town and rural economies with big futures.
Red tape reduction is one of the most practical, cross cutting ways
through which government in its totality can enhance the ease of
doing business. This cannot be stressed enough as it impacts on all
spheres of government. We therefore wish to commend the department
and our member municipalities for continuing to take the lead in the
implementation related interventions such as business process reengineering and ensuring that our bylaws and policies do not produce
unintended consequences or hindrances for SMMEs and co-operatives.
We will continue to cheer on further implementation of this
intervention as we also encourage all of business, including SMMEs
to engage responsible business practices.
In conclusion, as Salga, we wish to express our commitment on behalf
of local government, to be a real constructive partner in the
endeavours to ignite and nurture the spirit of entrepreneurship in
our respective towns, villages and townships, and to contribute to
the realisation that indeed, small business is big business. I thank
you.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Ke a leboga, motlotlegi Modulasetilo. Ke
dumedisa
Aforikaborwa ka bophara. [Thank you hon Chairperson. Greetings to
all South Africans in general.]
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The Department was established with the aim for radical
transformation of the economy through effective development and
increase the participation of SMMEs & Cooperatives in the main
stream economy. Something that was grossly neglected by the
Department of Trade and Industry, DTI, for more than 20 years.
The ANC government is not serious at all with the issue of radical
economic transformation because only allocated R1,325 billion for
this department while more than R10 billion has been allocated to
DTI. All that the DTI has done is to waste money into incentive
schemes that continue to fund the already developed mainstream big
business normally owned by whites.
Most of the activities tor SMMEs & Cooperatives are still arrested
in DTI for the reasons unknown by committee.
The Department budgeted more funds on programme 1 for
administration, R118 million other than to programme 2 for SMMEs &
Cooperatives development which is R26 million.
This shows clearly that the Department was formed to enrich ANC
carders not to uplift SMMEs & Cooperatives.
The South African government opens South Africa‘s borders to be
flooded with cheap and low quality consumer products from all over
the world. We do not produce anything of significance in this
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country, all we do is facilitate transactions between buyers and
sellers of products manufactured somewhere.
Small businesses that intend to compete with other small businesses
in other countries especially in agricultural products needs
protection and heavy subsidies.
Late payments by departments ... [Interjection.]
Ms T WANA: Can the Speaker take a question?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Hon Mokgosi,
will you take a question?
Mrs N P MOKGOSI: Re ka kopana kwa ga Motlharo ka Lamatlhatso mma,
nka e tsaya koo. [We can meet on Friday at Ga-Motlharo, that is
where I will be taking questions.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: No ma‘am,
thank you. Please continue.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Late payments by departments to SMMEs ...
[Interjection.]
Mr C HATTINGH: Hon Chair. You were not here yesterday but I wish to
inform you, as a point of order, that the same member was
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reprimanded yesterday for tribal questions and disrupting opposition
speakers. It has become a trend, it has become a trademark but
that‘s the only contribution that she‘s giving in this House. I
think you should take notice of that.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Hon Hattingh,
the members of this House, across the parties have been doing what
hon Wana has done. I do not know what happened yesterday. But I do
know that members, all of you fret away the time of this House. The
point you‘re making is noted but in fact, all of you are guilty of
this practice.
Hon Mokgosi, please continue.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Late payments by departments to SMMEs & Coops
continue to increase fatality rates of emerging entrepreneurs which
is contrary to the commitment made that all suppliers will be paid
within 30 days after the service thereof.
No attention is given to hawkers and informal markets. We have
raised the issue of Tshakhuma market with you; written letters and
question but still nothing has been done. People are trying to earn
a living, Tshakhuma market operate 24 hours, they do not have
running water or toilet and yet we claim to promote small
businesses.
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Small Enterprise Development Agency, SEDA & Small Enterprise Finance
Agency, SEFA offices are only in cities, which is a big challenge to
poor people in rural areas to access those offices.
SEDA has had no CEO for the past 3 years and most of Executive staff
in the Department are in acting positions.
No report about the signing of Transversal Agreements between the
Department of Small Business Development, DSBD and other Government
departments to speed up the empowerment SMMEs & Cooperatives by all
departments.
There is nothing in-house capacity to manage funds for craft
customised sector programme instead the funds are still managed by
consultants, middlemen, as in the DTI.
Through EFF‘s people municipality, we will demonstrate how to
localise the economy by engaging small businesses.
The EFF‘s people municipality will make sure that each and every
ward under its control and under its municipality has an economic
activity that employs people and produces goods and services
The EFF‘s people municipality will introduce programmes for local
economic development which will primarily be centred on the local
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production of more than 50% of the food and other basic necessities
consumed by the population of the municipality.
The EFF‘s people municipality will develop a programme to protect
all municipality traders and business activities, and assist them
with basic infrastructure, soft skills and access to markets
The EFF‘s people municipalities will ensure that street traders who
are residents of the Municipality gain access to markets and
suppliers in and outside the boundaries of the municipality.
The EFF rejects this budget because there is nothing radical
economic information on it.
Hon Dlamini ...
... o seka wa bua thata
gonne e tla re fa re tsaya puso o tlabo o
batla go nna mothusi wa me mme o tla mphepafaletsa fela, ga o kitla
o nna mothusi.
Tona, o gorogile thari mme wa palelwa ke go ikopela ikopela
maitshwarelo; O dira ekete re ipega mo go wena fela ke wena yo o
ipegang mo go rona. ke Ke bogologolo batho ba go bitsa Straat Meit
fela gompieno ke dumetse gore Ginger o Straat Meit. (Translation of
Setswana paragraphs follows.)
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[...don‘t talk too much because when we take over the government you
will apply to be my personal assistant. However, you will only be
cleaning for me. You will never become my PA.
You arrived late Minister and did not offer any apology. You pretend
like we are the one who report to you whereas you are the one who
reports to us. People have long been calling you Straat Meit and
today Mam, I concur that Ginger you are a Straat Meit.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Hon Mokgosi,
hon Mokgosi, you have just referred to a member sitting in this
House as a Straat Meit. Please withdraw that. Please withdraw that,
you are ... [Interjection.]
Moh N P MOKGOSI: Modulasetilo, Mme yo o tlile fano a re o utlwile a
sebiwa, fa a fetsa a re motho yoo a tswele kwa ntle. Go raya gore a
re ntwa
e ntshetswe kwa ntle, motho yo o dirang dilo tseo ke Straat
Meit. Nka seka ka
busetsa mafoko ape ao e leng nnete kwa morago
Modulasetilo. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Ms N P MOKGOSI: Chairperson, this woman came here and said she
heard people gossiping and she instructed the said person to go
outside. That means she wants to take the fight outside, we call a
person who does that a Straat Meit. Chairperson, I will never
withdraw that statement as it is true.]
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The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Hon Mokgosi,
hon Mokgosi, I am not debating the issue.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: I am not going to withdraw.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: You‘re not
withdrawing?
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Yes, Chairperson.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Please leave
the House.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: I can‘t, I‘m here to work. I can‘t leave the House.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: Please leave
this House. You‘re instructed to withdraw after impinging on a
member in this House, a Member of Parliament. Withdraw the words or
leave the House.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: More than 1,1 million out there voted for me to be
in this House, not to be chased out. I can‘t withdraw the truth, so
I‘m being chased out just because I can‘t withdraw the truth
Chairperson?
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The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: You are being
chucked out of this House for taking an ... [Interjection.]
Ms N P MOKGOSI: For calling a spade a spade? ... [Interjection.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: No.
Ms N P MOKGOSI: Is it what you‘re saying?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: The second
reason you‘re being chucked out is for what you‘re doing,
deliberately undermining the Chairperson. Thank you very much.
Mr S P D SKHOSANA ka MAHLANGU: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon
Minister Zulu and Deputy Minister Thabethe,... [Interjection.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order members, qhubekeka Baba.
Mr S P D SKHOSANA ka MAHLANGU: ... a special delegates, my
colleagues who are here today, hon members of this august House,
Hon Chairperson, it is my singular honour and privilege for me to be
standing here to address the NCOP. I don‘t take this opportunity and
privilege for granted. I sometimes ask myself a question and
probably one would want to curse the day when Comrade Blade Nzimande
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started singing a song, the song that finally became very popular
and he was known for. [Interjection.]
Mr C HATTINGH: Hon Chair, normally we have people who jump very
quickly. We are not allowed to refer to hon member as comrade. I
think the hon member should withdraw. It is hon Blade Nzimande.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members and hon Skhosana, Dr Blade
Nzimande is the hon in this House, please continue.
Mr S P D SKHOSANA ka MAHLANGU: Hon Comrade Blade Nzimande is known,
whenever he started speaking in all our meetings, our rallies, there
is a song that he always sang, and everybody knew him for, ―My
mother was a kitchen girl, my father was a garden boy‖. Little did
he know that, that will be translated in a particular day, into a
House of this nature, and we regret that?
Hon Chairperson, it is without doubt that the South African
government support for small, medium and micro enterprises is widely
acknowledged as the country‘s effort towards economic restructuring
and poverty alleviation.
We are hailing from a fragmented dispensation where a large
proportion of people predominantly black were operating in the
periphery of the mainstream economy due to the enactment of
legislations purported to prioritize a few at the expense of the
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masses.
During the advent of democracy and post 1994, this particular
acknowledgement from the previous dispensation resulted in the
democratic government of the ANC displaying an absolute political
and legislative commitment through policy and strategy to ensure
that SMME‘s development is viable.
The SMMEs development typifies part of economic development with the
view of dealing with unemployment, poverty and injustice. It is also
key, to note and take cognizance of the fact that the sector has
significantly grown. In 1996, around 19% of those employed were in
the informal sector of the economy. Then there was an exponential
increase accounting to 26% by 1999.
The aforementioned clearly reflects the government‘s commitment in
targeting the SMMEs sector as an economic empowerment vehicle for
previously disadvantaged people. Hon Chairperson, one has to
constantly refer to the previously disadvantaged which is common to
everyone in this House, which category of the population one is
referring to before being quoted out of context.
Unfortunately, it‘s reality that all of us have endured. The budget
vote by the Minister suggests that the department is in line with
the aspiration of the ANC-led government as dictated in the Freedom
Charter that ―The People Shall share in the country‘s wealth‖. We
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also appreciated the support given to co-operatives and the
initiative to bring other key sectors such as the National Youth
Development Agency and ensuring that entities like Small Enterprise
Development Agency, Seda are well funded.
In contextualizing this hon Chairperson, I must categorically state
and with an absolute sense of authority, that as Mpumalanga we are
in line with what the department purports to do in advancing the
SMME‘s. This has been visible in bringing the private sector and key
industry players to join the provincial government in catalyzing
economic growth and improve prospects for job creation.
Hon Chairperson, in Mpumalanga we have taken an initiative through
agriculture and forestry by utilizing and establishing special
economic zones as focal points for an example the Forestry
Technology Park in Sabie Thaba Chweu Local Municipality will
comprise of an industrial park that will house existing and new
enterprises and a Wood SMME incubator.
Another example is the Mpumalanga fresh produce market, which will
be a platform to stimulate agricultural production, downstream
beneficiation, and investment opportunities across agro processing
value chain. The heart of this is based on the empowerment of
emerging black farmers to access domestic and international markets
for their province.
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Exposing such businesses is key for the advancement hence it was
alluded to by the Minister. This is to mention a few of Mpumalanga
initiatives, which are in line with the national focus on the SMMEs.
Equally so, as the House might be aware, the province is a tourists
destination and attraction. Tourism also has the potential to create
opportunities for the participation of SMMEs and co-operatives.
It is then critical to ensure that the government supports the black
owned enterprises in the tourism sector to enhance the goals of the
Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment. The Mpumalanga tourism and
agency as another example has launched a village in which all
exhibitors will showcase their businesses. We are taking tourism to
the next level through SMMEs. Hon Chairperson, we are in line and
the hon Minister has eloquently emphasized our view. We support the
Minister without any reservations.
Lastly, there are those who deliberately turn a blind eye on what
the ANC-led government is doing to improve the socio-economic
conditions of people, and I must rightfully indicate that such is
purely based on political frustrations and pretending to envy to do
something they never thought or disregarded for more than 300 years.
Those who are always cynical must continue to do so in processing
the verge of their collapse. In the ANC, we stick to our aspirations
and endeavors in serving the people of this country equally and as
pronounced in Chapter 2, section 9 of the Constitution. In targeting
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the previously disadvantaged, this should be understood on the basis
and backdrop of fair discrimination. Hon Chairperson, Siyaqhuba. I
thank you. [Applause.]
Mr F T DAU: Hon Chairperson, Minister, NCOP delegates, I greet you,
the promotion of small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, is an
important priority of government since SMMEs play a vital role in
addressing the challenges of job creation, economic growth,
dependency syndrome, poverty reduction, skewed distribution of
resources and several other developmental challenges. There are
various factors that drive people into entrepreneurship, that is,
retrenchment, unemployment, limited or no prospects for upward
mobility in a workplace, low paying job, independence and the desire
to bring about change in a society.
Young people find it difficult to obtain funding due to stringent
credit requirements from financial institutions, including stateowned institutions which are supposed to be developmental in nature.
Most SMMEs are not registered as businesses, but as nonprofit
organisations, NPOs, relying on grants from Social Development. Lack
of support from established businesses makes it difficult for the
survival of SMMEs and difficult for their products to be found on
shelves.
The reluctance of SMMEs to be organised is another contributing
factor. With regard to government support, few indigenous SMMEs are
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aware of the existence of government agencies and incentive schemes.
There are government policies and municipal bylaws where a
turnaround time for licence and permit applications is given.
Indigenous SMMEs apply for spaza shops or tuck shop permits that
allow foreign nationals to operate on their behalf. Absence of
written contracts between indigenous and foreign dealers creates
tension and lead to infighting.
There is insufficient policy guidance in some local municipalities
on how to create an enabling environment for the development and
promotion of informal businesses. Pertaining to competition, it
results in indigenous business owners succumbing and resorting to
renting out their premises to immigrants, or violence as a means of
protecting their domain.
Relating to innovation, research indicates that immigrants that
establish businesses in rural areas and townships are more
innovative compared to the indigenous business owners. With regard
to environment, there is overconcentration of retailing in general
dealers, for example spaza shops, tuck shops, restaurants, etc, that
operate from residential garages and backyards.
Social factors that are usually experienced are crime, ethics and
corruption. Other factors for survival of SMMEs include technology,
management competency, creativity and networking, location and cost
of production, owners‘ equity and collateral.
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There are more sole proprietors of foreign-owned businesses than
those owned by indigenous SMMEs. The contributing factor to high
failure rate among indigenous SMMEs is their reluctance of getting
into partnerships, and this makes it difficult to compete in getting
discounted stock when purchasing, as compared to their foreign
competitors. The strategy used by foreigners is bulk buying and
charging lower prices. This makes it very difficult for indigenous
SMMEs to compete with them.
Limited research conducted by the Limpopo Economic Development,
Environment and Tourism, Ledet, indicated that there are
265 foreign-owned businesses compared to only 209 businesses owned
by indigenous SMMEs.
The National Development Plan indicated that South Africa urgently
needs a two—pronged decision on migration which is a qualitative and
quantitative research project on migration into the country and
clear policies on how to address the additional burden posed on
natural resources.
Mindful that a critical success factor lies in partnership between
government and various stakeholders and role-players, the following
factors should be taken into account: The developmental approach and
recognition of this sector; a strong community buy-in and
participation; creation of an enabling environment for businesses to
thrive; self-sustaining enterprises that are not overly dependent on
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government; ability to steer public-private sector investment that
benefits this sector; a holistic and co-ordinated sectoral approach
and policy framework; balance between regulation and enterprise
development; evaluation of government support targeting SMMEs in
rural areas and townships. Underlying this process of continuous
assessment and refinement forms the notion that the effective and
efficient functioning of government systems and programmes will
realise value for money, sustainable livelihoods and good quality of
service delivery. It is hoped that such support will eventually
enable the SMMEs to participate in the mainstream economy of South
Africa.
Other factors include to analyse the economic impact of foreignowned businesses in rural areas and townships; create awareness
campaigns in rural areas and townships about government institutions
that support SMMEs; a provincial workshop on informal businesses and
its contribution to the provincial economy could contribute to
raising awareness and improved understanding of the sector; review
bylaws in order to protect SMMES operating in township and rural
areas; mainstreaming informal business activities into local
economic development planning; develop database of SMMEs which
include registered and permit holders of informal establishments
like spaza shops and tuckshops in townships and rural areas; develop
database of foreign-owned businesses in rural areas and townships
and educate and encourage indigenous SMMEs about the importance of
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lease agreements and contracts so as to be make informed decisions
when they decide to rent out their premises to foreigners.
Regarding co-operatives development, the Limpopo provincial
government resolved in 2003 to facilitate the development and
support of co-operatives, as a form of business that will deal with
the high poverty and unemployment rates in Limpopo. Though various
institutions and sector departments support co-operatives in
different sectors, the Department of Economic Development,
Environment and Tourism was mandated to champion and facilitate the
programme for co-operatives development in the province.
Statistically, there are roughly about 1 483 co-operatives
registered in Limpopo though a high number of those registered cooperatives have either collapsed or have not been in operation since
registration.
Through its chief directorate, Integrated Economic Development
Services, Ledet offers support to co-peratives in all sectors of the
economy as guided by the Co-operatives Management Act 6 of 2013.
Ledet, together with the implementing agency Limpopo Economic
Development Agency, Leda, as well as the agency of national
Department of Small Business Development, Small Enterprise
Development Agency, Seda, work tirelessly to provide support in
areas of providing business development information, funding
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assistance as well as access to markets as guided by the provincial
co-operatives strategies.
The menu of services offered in these areas includes the following:
Development and implementation of provincial co-operatives policies
and strategies; facilitation of co-operatives awareness workshops
through information sharing sessions; facilitation of access to
markets for SMMEs and co-operatives; facilitation of co-operatives
development funding through loans and grant funding through the Cooperative Incentive Scheme and facilitation of training, incubation
and mentorship programmes for co-operatives.
Ledet has partnerships with other government agencies and
organisations that also provide financial support to co-operatives;
these include Leda, Seda, Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa, and
National Youth Development Agency, NYDA. Other government
departments such as Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs and
Social Development have made financial supports available to cooperatives.
Widely reported challenges that are faced by co-operatives could be
the following: Inadequate technical support to co-operatives;
limited access to finance as most co-operatives do not have
collaterals required by financial institutions; difficulties in
accessing markets; lack of infrastructure for operations; low level
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of participation in value addition production as most of the cooperatives are primary co-operatives and lack of business and
technical skills.
Unlike in many other provinces, Limpopo co-operatives support
structure is lean with limited resources, both human and financial,
however, the department commits with the little resources that they
have to do whatever they can. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr L B GAEHLER: Hon Chairperson, we welcome the great strides
already made by the department, notwithstanding its infancy stage,
which will inherently have its won teething challenges.
Amongst those challenges is the extent to which the department is
reaching out to existing and potential entrepreneurs, in particular,
those locked in the rural areas. To make its service known, the
department needs to increase its scope and speed of reaching out to
the citizens.
The skyrocketing unemployment rate puts more pressure on this
department, as the National Development Plan, NDP, makes it clear,
that getting South Africa onto a high-growth trajectory demands that
the country places small businesses and co-operatives at the centre
of the war against poverty, inequality and unemployment.
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We know and appreciate the fact that the department alone will not
be able to achieve this toll order. Accordingly, the United
Democratic Movement strongly suggests that a charter on small
business support for both the public and private sector be
considered with speed.
Although policies have been adopted and a noise has been made with
regard to the turnaround time by government in paying small
businesses, this remains a great challenge. It turns potential
businesses into survivalist and this is against the purport and the
spirit of the NDP.
The UDM suggests that a monitoring tool should be in place to ensure
that all those departments who fail to honour these policy
provisions, are held accountable, as their actions are contrary to
the NDP.
Township economies are largely expressed and visible in the informal
sector. This sector is largely occupied by women who are finding
ways of surviving in precarious circumstances that may otherwise
destroy them and their families. Through these efforts, the informal
business sector is able to rise and build decent living, not only
for those who run it, but the larger community.
In order to consolidate this sector and initiative, the United
Democratic Movement suggests the following.
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Firstly, an enabling working environment must be created for people
in the informal sector, which should be changed to the needs of
their businesses.
Secondly, relevant policies should be formulated to create
recognition of the sector as an equally important player in the
national economy. Informal economy workers must be at the centre of
the crafting of these policies.
Thirdly, new strategies and innovations to embrace alternative
finance models that are relevant with the economic realities
confronting informal sector should be found to complement the
existing ones. Linked to this is finance and business literacy.
Lastly, government, through this department, must create mechanisms
to support this sector in its great efforts to access capital,
capacitate them in business and protect them from unfair
competition.
Legal processes in running a proper business can be cumbersome. The
Company and Intellectual Property Commission should be made to serve
small businesses with speed and efficiency. Some of its processes
are currently working against the success of small businesses. These
include the turnaround time for registration, updating information
and processing documents. Small business development and support is
the best way to create a capable state whose economy grows at an
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acceptable rate, in order to fight poverty, inequality, unemployment
and crime. Thank you.
Mr W F FABER: Hon Chair, hon Minister, hon members, Minister Zulu,
you want to create 11 million jobs with small, medium and microsized enterprises, SMMEs. Really, since President Zuma became
President of South Africa, we lost over 1,8 million jobs. Over 700
people lose their jobs every day, as we stand here. [Interjections.]
To try and turn this around, we in the DA believe we should increase
support for the small businesses. We can see that in our current
low-growth environment, large companies cannot create more jobs. Let
us then empower our entrepreneurs and create a nation of employers.
Vandag sit ons in ‘n situasie in Suid-Afrika waar 75% van alle
kleinbesighede binne die eerste jaar misluk. Dit is entrepeneurs wat
graag in die hoofstroomekonomie betrokke wil raak en net nie kan
slaag nie, weens verskeie redes. Die redes is onkunde oor hoe om ‘n
besigheid reg te bestuur en hoe om in die mark betrokke te raak wat
reeds versadig is, en kompetisie in die mark, wat baie meer ervaring
nodig het.
Dis alombekend dat die enigste manier om Suid-Afrika se ekonomiese
toestand te verbeter, is om toe te sien dat die klein- en
mediumbesighede sukses behaal. Om kleinsakeontwikkeling tot ‘n
volgende vlak te neem, sal die regering sy rol moet aanpas. Waarom
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dink die regering nie aan planne soos belastingtoegewings aan
kleinbesighede nie?
Huidiglik word miljoene spandeer om kleinbesighede op die voet te
bring en die departement jag na syfers, om beter te lyk. Die
realitelt is dat die departement nie vir ons sê hoeveel persent van
die kleinsake suksesvol is nie, sowel as hoeveel geld daaraan
spandeer is nie — die sogenaamde ―return en investment‖. Ons moet
dit weet, maar ons hoor dit nie. Die geld gaan uit, maar ons weet
nie hoeveel suksesstories daar is nie. Ons hoor van ‘n paar, maar u
kan nie vir ons sê hoeveel nie.
Een ven die groot redes vir mislukking van kleinsake is die
sogenaamde ―red tape‖ [omslagtighede]. Die DA het na die toepassing
van bestepraktyk in suksesvolle lande gaan kyk en besef dat die ―red
tape‖ [omslagtighede] een van die groot hekkies in besighede se pad
is. Kleinbesighede is besig om te veel tyd te spandeer aan al die
―red tape‖ [omslagtighede] en aan die einde skeep hulle die
belangrikste basiese besigheidsbedryf self af.
Al die omslagtige regulasies wat deur die regering opgestel is maak
dit amper onmoontlik vir entrepeneurs om in die besigheidsbedryf in
te skakel. Die nuwe wetsontwerp wat die DA voorstel is ‘n meer
sakevriendelike besigheidsomgewing wat heelwat werk kan skep.
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Waarom floreer ―spaza shops‖ in woonbuurte? Was daar navorsing in
die verband gedoen om ons eie entrepeneurs te bevorder?
Die meeste sake in die landelike gebiede word deur buitelanders uit
die res van Afrika, hier in ons eie gebiede bedryf, en dit op erwe
wat soms nie eens vir besighede gesoneer is nie. Ek stel voor dat
ons al die suksesverhale na gaan slaan, by hulle leer en dan die
staatsfondse op ‘n manier spandeer wat ons ekonomie aan die rol sal
sit. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Today we find ourselves in a situation in South Africa where 75% of
all small businesses fail within the first year. These are
entrepreneurs who are keen to become involved in the mainstream
economy and simply cannot succeed, for a variety of reasons. The
reasons are ignorance about how to manage a business properly and
how to become involved in a market that is already saturated, as
well as competition in the market, which requires much more
experience.
It is common knowledge that the only way to improve South Africa‘s
economic situation is to ensure that the small and medium businesses
achieve success. In order to take small business development to the
next level, the Government will also have to adapt its role. Why
does the Government not consider plans such as tax incentives for
small businesses?
18 MAY 2016
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Currently millions are spent on establishing small businesses, and
the department is hunting for figures in order to improve its
appearance. The reality is that the department does not tell us what
percentage of the small businesses are successful, or how much money
has been spent on them – the so-called ―return and investment‖. We
need to know this, but we do not hear it. The money is distributed
but we do not know how many success stories there are. We hear of a
few, but you cannot tell us how many.
One of the major reasons for the failure of small businesses is the
so-called ―red tape‖. The DA had a look at the application of best
practice in successful countries and realised that the ―red tape‖ is
one of the major obstacles in the way of businesses. Small
businesses are spending too much time on all the ―red tape‖ and in
the end they neglect the most important basic business enterprise
itself.
All the time-consuming regulations drawn up by the Government make
is virtually impossible for entrepreneurs to become involved in
business enterprises. The new Bill being proposed by the DA is a
more business-friendly business environment that is able to create
work.
Why do ―spaza shops‖ flourish in townships? Has research been done
in this regard in order to promote our own entrepreneurs?
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Most businesses in the rural areas are conducted by foreigners from
the rest of Africa here in our own areas, and that on plots that are
sometimes not even zoned for business purposes. I proposed that we
go and check on all the success stories, learn from them and then
spend the state funds in a way that will get our economy going. I
thank you.]
Ms M C DIKGALE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Zulu, hon Deputy
Minister Thabethe, hon Chief Whip of the Council, hon members,
special delegates, ladies and gentlemen. In his book Go Broke, Die
Rich: Turning Around the Troubled Small Business, author William
Manchee says:
Many small businesses are doomed from day one, not from
competition or the economy, but from the ignorance of their
owners...their destiny is already decided because they have no
idea how a business should be operated.
Minister, small businesses are part of our strategy to overcome the
triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, which are
at the heart of South Africa‘s socioeconomic challenges. Therefore
we can not and should not allow them to die. Not with the youth
unemployment rate that is so high. Here are some of the reasons why
we can not and should not, allow them to die – I heard you earlier
on Minister when you were saying those who are selling on the street
need the attention of the government – but allow me to say that
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small businesses are vital to the success of the economy. Not only
as they provide the success stories of the future, but also because
they meet local needs. For example, businesses such as hairdressers,
emergency plumbers, car mechanics, shisanyama, spaza shops, and so
on are always located within their communities and thus readily
available. Their localisation also means that the local community
saves from transport costs. This then means the money circulates
within that community. They also serve the requirements of larger
businesses with services such as photography services, printed
stationery, catering and routine maintenance. Small businesses
survive and prosper for many different reasons. Some of them are the
following; developing personal relationships - small businesses are
well placed to build personal relationships with customers,
employees, and suppliers. With a small business you know who you are
dealing with; you can put a ―face‖ to the person you are in contact
with. Person-to-person interaction is as important as ever in
building strong relationships.
Responding flexibly to problems and challenges in a small business,
there is little hierarchy or chain of command. Large businesses may
have set ways of operating and establish procedures that are hard to
change. Small businesses are often far more flexible. It can also
reach a quick decision on whether or not it can do what is required.
Inventiveness and innovation, small businesses are well positioned
to introduce and develop new ideas. This is due to their owners not
having to report or seek approval from anyone else. Low overheads
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due to the small scale of operation, small businesses have lower
overhead costs. They operate in small premises with low costs and
limited rent and rates to pay, if no rates at all. These low costs
result in lower prices for consumers. Catering for limited or niche
markets, large firms with high overheads must produce high levels of
output to spread costs. By contrast, small firms are able to make a
profit on much lower sales figures. All these show that small
businesses are important cogs in developing economies such as ours.
They are therefore important tools for our transformation agenda.
Unfortunately many of these small businesses belong to the informal
sector or what the International Labour Organisation call informal
economy. I know there is a debate whether formalisation of this
sector is an answer or not. Although there are obviously some
candidates for this path, this approach fails to fully recognise
either the very diverse nature of the informal economy or the fact
that many survivalist endeavours will never be more than that. I
therefore support the regulation path, as opposed to formalisation,
that the government has taken in dealing with them.
These businesses are also vulnerable, especially to the big
businesses. I will thus request the government to protect them from
big corporates who would swallow them and later on retrench their
employees. Big businesses also tend to compete unfairly with these
small businesses. As these businesses are small, it is harder for
them to find the economies of scale from which big firms are able to
benefit. For example, because small businesses tend to buy
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relatively small quantities of raw materials and other supplies,
they receive lower discounts than larger firms.
The small firm cannot afford to employ a range of specialists and
also find it more costly to raise finance. So they are always at a
disadvantage when compared to big businesses, hence they need
protection by government. The main reason many people choose to set
up a small business is because it gives them independence. They also
reap the rewards for themselves; these are two powerful incentives.
Therefore they need to be supported. They also need to be promoted.
Promotion is a cost to the business, but without promotion most
people will not know of its existence. The best form of promotion is
recommendation from a satisfied customer. So if government can
assist in promoting them they will be able to get satisfied
customers who will then sing and spread their gospel — free
promotion if you like.
However, all these are not done, to rural small entrepreneurs in
particular. And the main culprits in these instances are the
municipalities. Their Local Economic Development, LED, plans do not
incorporate these small businesses. However, to be fair to
municipalities one understands that they do not have enough budget
themselves to cater for these small businesses. In my language, when
we explain this situation, we say:
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... ―ke moroto wa tšhiwana, o rarela le leoto‖. [... ―poor people
are always vulnerable and at disadvantage unlike the rich people‖.]
In my province, Limpopo, I am always pained to see these small
entrepreneurs, together with their goods, which are mainly
agricultural produce, suffering from sunburn and it is obvious that
their businesses would eventually die because no customer would want
to buy something that is not fresh. What is needed is for them to
have shelter and stalls to maintain the longevity of their goods,
but these are not there. I therefore would like to commend the
Ministry of Small Business Development for the measures it put in
place to assist these small businesses and I hope they will
materialise soon. This is because putting polices in place and
actually implementing them are two different things. In business
language it is outcomes as opposed to outputs.
In the same vein I would implore the Ministry to extend its reach to
rural small businesses in particular, when it does its consultations
with stakeholders. Their inputs would enrich the Ministry‘s plans as
they know their conditions better. This will in turn enable the
Ministry to customise its interventions for various businesses and
areas as these differ from one business to another. It will also
augur well with the saying: ―nothing about us without us‖. This will
go a long way in strengthening the partnership between small
businesses and government. Speaking of partnership, I must also
commend the private sector for partnering with government to come to
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the aid of small businesses. This will indeed encourage the small
businesses to strive to reach the heights of the big businesses.
This is really a good move of businessmanship and small businesses
need all the help. In my language we say:
... ―Kgomo go tsošwa ye e itsošago‖. [... ―People should do
something to assist themselves in the process of waiting for
assistance from others‖.]
As Parliament we will also do our bit in our oversight over the
Ministry to ensure that all these good plans that the Ministry have
indeed come to fruition for the benefit of our small businesses. And
the starting point will be to approve this budget, meagre as it may
be. We therefore support this Budget Vote and I thank you
Chairperson. [Applause.]
Mr M KHAWULA: Sihlalo ohloniphekile, ngibingelele umhlonishwa
uNgqongqoshe Ndabezitha [Zulu] iPhini lakhe nabahlonishwa bonke.
[Hon Chairperson, let me greet the hon Minister Ndabezitha [Zulu]
(clan name of the Zulus) her Deputy and all the hon members.]
My first issue here is a question that says: What distinguishes the
Department of Small Business Development from Economic Development?
What distinguishes the Department of Small Business Development from
Trade and Industry?
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Iqala lapho ke indaba, Ndabezitha. Ngifuna ukuvumelana kancane
nomhlonishwa u-Faber uma ethi ukukhuluma ngemisebenzi eyizigidi
eziyishumi nanye [11 million] akuwusizi lomnyango ngoba into
yokuqala kulomnyango ukusekela [sustainability] Uyabona lento
ekhulunywa abahlonishwa uTau nomhlonishwa uSikhosana nomama uDikgale
ngathi impela bafunda kuMntwana wakaPhindangene, bayikhuluma ngqo
ipolitiki yomasibambisane [co-operatives] yokuzisiza, [self-help]
yokuzimela [self-reliance] futhi Ndabezitha, ... (Translation of
isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The issue starts there, hon Minister Ndabezitha (clan name of the
Zulus). I want to concur slightly with hon Faber when he says,
talking about 11 million jobs does not help this department because
the first thing for this department is sustainability. You see, what
hons Tau, Sikhosana and Ms Dikgale are saying - you can bet that
they have learnt from the Prince of Phindangene (M G Buthelezi) as
they are talking to direct politics of the co-operatives, self-help,
self-reliance and Ndabezitha (clan name of the Zulus), ....]
... that is what you are about, that is what your department is
about. You spoke here about businesses in distress. You spoke here
about duplication of incubation that is exactly what your department
is about.
Akungawi isitolo samnumzane thizeni elokishini eMlazi ukhona
umnyango wakho. Abangahlupheki omama e-West Walk eThekwini bekade
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baqala ngoba uyabona Ndabezitha kulomnyango wakho awudingi ukuthi
uhambe uyofuna abantu abenza lomsebenzi, ... (Translation of isiZulu
paragraph follows.)
[Do not let a certain Mr So-and-so‘s shop in a township like uMlazi
go bankrupt whilst your department is in existance. Do not let women
in West Walk in Durban continue to struggle as it has been the case
all along because you see, Ndabezitha (clan name of the Zulus), in
your department you do not have to go look for people who are doing
this kind of work, ...]
... they are there but the problem is they have started this on
their own. They have not been getting support from government. They
must get support so that they professionalise what they are doing.
Indaba yemisebenzi eyizigidi eziyishumi nanye [11 million]
izozenzekela ngendlela ngoba uma kunabanikazi bezitolo abangamashumi
amahlanu endaweni enezitolo ezahlukahlukene, umuntu usebenza
nomkakhe, usebenza nendodana yakhe, aqashe umfana wakwamakhelwane
nentombazane yakwamakhelwane. Kodwa into ebalulekile ukuthi la
bethenga khona uma umnyango wakho ungeke ubenzele ukuthi AbamaWholesaler
akube izinhlangano ezisebenza ngokubambisana zabo khona
bezokwazi ukuthi baziphilise ngalento abayenzayo. Awukakawenzi
umsebenzi wakho Ndabezitha. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph
follows.)
18 MAY 2016
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[The issue of 11 million jobs will sort itself out because if there
are 50 shop owners in an area that has a variety of shops, a man
would work with his wife, work with his son, employ a neighbour‘s
son and a neighbour‘s daughter as well. However, where they get
their supplies, is what is important, if your department would not
make it possible for them to form co-operatives that would own the
Wholesalers for them to make a living by what they are doing. You
have not yet done your job, Ndabezitha (clan name of the Zulus).
Why should the shop owners go and buy from somebody who doesn‘t
benefit the township when all that they are buying from that
wholesaler is something that is distributed in the township that is
where you come in.
Ukubahlomulisa kwakho kuyokwenza ukuthi labantu bazimele ngalendlela
yokuthi nala belanda khona izinto abazisebenzisayo yindawo yabo.
Okunye engifuna ukudlula kukhona, Ndabezitha, ukuthi laphaya
komasipala njengoba kade esho ukhansela nabanye ozakwethu, laphaya
komasipala kukhona umsebenzi owenziwayo womasipala kodwa uyawa,
lomsebenzi wama-LEDs angekho ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraph
follows.)
[Your empowering of these people would enable them to sustain
themselves in such a way that they would be even owning the
suppliers of the commodities they are using. One other issue that I
want to touch on, Ndabezitha(clan name of the Zulus), is that in the
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municipalities – like the councillor and my other colleagues have
said – there are functions of the municipalities that are performed
there which are collapsing - the functions of the non-existent LEDs
...]
... sustainable, that is where you come in. why should LEDs in
municipalities not be sustainable when your department is there.
When we started I said to you, Ndabezitha, this department was a
mistake but now the mistake is with us and it is a reality.
Senzani ngokuthi uyijike wena ... [What are we doing for you to turn
it around ...]
... so that next time when I debate here I don‘t say you are a
mistake, I say then it was a mistake but you did turn things around.
Isikhathi sami sincane ngifuna ukuthi bengiqala ukubona namhlanje
iqembu elibusayo liza le lizobeka amaphuzu lidideke kangaka. [My
time is limited but I want to say that it is for the first time
today that I hear the ruling party coming here so confused when
tabling their facts.]
Hon Nthebe is talking about greatness and that is not what this
department is about. Others are talking small development and that
is what the department is about. Maybe the last thing you need to do
– that I want to which you need to do is – go back home, in the ANC,
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workshop one another about what small development is all about
because they are confused. They talk greatness, they listen to too
much of Donald Trump, [Laughter.] they talk smallness. Your
department Ndabezitha, I repeat, is about co-orps, co-orps are about
sustaining the economy. Thank you.
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Madam Chair, my thanks to the Minister and the
Deputy Minister.
Hon Khawula, I am sure this one will be interesting to you.
The department is financing small businesses and co-operatives in
order to ensure that small business and co-operatives, through the
organisations called sector education and training authorities,
Setas, are growing. And this has been happening since the new
department became an independent department.
Listen to these few statistics. One-hundred-and-forty-one blackowned SMMEs and co-operatives to the value of R2,4 billion have been
funded by this department. Thirty-seven thousand youth-owned SMMEs
and co-operatives have received funding to the value of R724 million
through this department. One-hundred-and-fifty-five thousand womenowned SMMEs and co-operatives have received funding to the value of
R1,3 billion from this department. So, what more do you expect to be
done at the infancy stage of the department like the Small Business
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Development department that was created only at the beginning of
this Fifth Parliament‘s term?
But, as we deal with unemployment, there exists an army of abused
workers in the hands of monopoly capital who cash in billions of
rands in proceeds annually on the blood and sweat of workers. These
monopoly capitalists possess not even an inch of patriotism, and
will, in the wink of an eye, should the economy be shaken, stop at
nothing in laying workers off. I refer to the farmworkers who are
victims of retrenchment just the next morning of the first day of a
drought declaration.
Therefore it is on that basis that we think small business is the
way to go. Many other speakers before me have shared statistics that
show that, in the developing economies in the world, small business
is the way to go because it has been scientifically proven that the
economy of a developing country can only develop on the back of
small businesses.
That is what we starting as a country. We are learning from these
best practices. We draw from international countries that have
started this some years ago.
Now, a question that‘s begs to be asked, in this question of
drought. I am very much concerned about it and have raised this
question on many platforms whenever I get a chance. Just on the day,
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or the year of a drought being declared in the country, and a
commercial farmer gets affected there and then, on what basis ...
what then happens to the positive yields and skyrocketing profits
that that commercial farmer will notice or realise through the years
before the drought would have been declared?
I think we are taken for a ride as a country. Our government must do
something. It think some of our commercial farmers are doing this
just to tap into the rescue packages that government is offering
even when they are not actually affected. It is my view and my
conviction that it cannot happen that when drought happens this
year, a commercial farmer is immediately affected. It cannot happen.
What happens to all the years of positive yields and profit? That is
the problem. I think our government is taken for a ride. This is a
lack of patriotism on the part of some commercial farmers.
That‘s why, hon Minister, we think small business is the way to go.
Because it is out of these programmes of developing small businesses
that we are able to create our patriotic small businesspeople who
have faces, as hon Dikgale said, whom you know by name, who know
where you live, like you know where they live, and who is known by
your own family. This is unlike relying on big capital, which has no
patriotism at all and some of whose faces are not even known. We
don‘t know to who those profits ... when they are declared every
year ... who benefits out of them. That is a problem.
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That is a problem we have with the DA, because it is the people who
have no interest of the growth of the economy, especially the
economy of the formerly downtrodden masses of our country who
continue to be victims in the circumstances of the slow economic
growth that we are experiencing as a country.
But, hon Engelbrecht, I‘m not sure if you do have knowledge of the
economic sector. I have never seen her in the committee, neither
have I heard of her. Coming from Tshwane, I ... by the way, I am a
former regional secretary of that region of the ANC. I know a lot of
activists in that place ... that particular area. I have never known
an economist. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, please take your seat.
Hon Faber?
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, would the hon Mthimunye please take a
question? I want to ask him for the answer, but I know he will take
a ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, do you wish to take a
question?
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: I take no question from a non-revolutionary party
from a ... [Inaudible.] party, Chairperson. I take all the questions
from my poor people.
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Mr W F FABER: I just wanted to watch his attendance at the ...
[Inaudible.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: He does not want a question, hon Faber.
Please continue.
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Hon Chair, I think it is high school Biology ...
when a child is born, a child goes through certain stages. It is
called metamorphosis ... a stage of metamorphosis. [Interjections.]
No child can be born and walk the next day. On what basis does any
person ... can any person in his right mind think that a department
as new as the department of small business is able to just be given
birth yesterday and be able to run today? It is just not possible. I
think it is important to appreciate ... I think I want to appreciate
the input done by the honourable councillor ... [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, on that point, please
take your seat. Hon Faber?
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, after 20 years, the ANC can‘t run the
country. So I just want to know how long he wants this ... If he can
tell me approximately how long it will take.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: That was not a point of order. Hon
Mthimunye, please continue.
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Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Now that is what I exactly referred to, hon Chair.
His over-zealousness based on preconceived ideas that are sucked
from monopoly capital. As the ANC-led government, we have done all
in our power since the beginning of this new democracy to empower
the people, especially the downtrodden people of this country.
I want to tell you, it is important that we accept the shortcomings
that we have as government because if we do not do so, irrespective
of whether or not we are a ruling party, if we do not do so ... What
happens if you become a ruling party tomorrow? What happens? It will
boomerang on your face. What you are saying will boomerang on your
face. I think it is happening as we speak, in Cape Town. It‘s
happening in Cape Town, as we speak. People in Cape Town are grossly
not satisfied with your performance as a government of the DA.
[Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, please take your seat.
Hon Faber?
Mr W F FABER: Hon Chair, I would just like, on a point of clarity,
to know whether that was a question by hon Mthimunye to me to answer
him about how well the Western Cape is being governed? I just want
to know if that was a question. I can answer him.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: That is not a point of clarity. Please
take your seat.
18 MAY 2016
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Rre Mthinmunye, tswella pele. [Mr Mthimunye, please continue.]
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Chairperson, I am told, educators, when they
define education, as they take a course where they get trained, they
define education as an accompaniment of non-adult to a responsible
adult. I am not sure, because I have seen the paper commander in
chief, CIC, graduating from a university a few weeks ago. I am not
sure if education has served a purpose out of that CIC. If education
would mean an accompaniment of non-adult to a responsible adulthood,
then I think education has failed in some people.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, you are creating a lot
of excitement. Hon Essack? [Laughter.]
Mr F ESSACK: Hon Chair, seeing as the debate is coming to a close,
it is perhaps good just to revitalise it. Through you, I just wanted
to check ... the speaker at the podium says he was told but he is
not sure. Perhaps he can tell the House who he was told about and
whether he is confident about what he is saying.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: The speaker should have been in a
position to say yes he will take a question. You didn‘t ask for
that, therefore whatever it is you are raising, there is no point of
clarity. Please continue, hon Mthimunye. [Interjections.] Hon
Essack? Hon Mthimunye, please take a seat. Hon Essack, is that
another point of clarity because, if it is, then the answer is no.
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Mr F ESSACK: Hon Chairperson, through you, might I perhaps ask if
the speaker will then take a question?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Okay. Hon Mthimunye, will you take a
question?
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Chairperson, may I make a permanent statement. I
take no questions from an anti-revolutionary party. This is a
permanent statement for the record.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Okay, hon Essack, whatever it is, the
answer is no. Please continue, hon Mthimunye.
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: And there‘s this mentality that exists that, you
know, when we talk small business we talk spaza shops, as if, you
know, my people are born and glued to spaza shops as a form of
business. On what basis do some people believe that people and my
people must only believe that when we talk business we must only
talk spaza shops shops only and nothing else. [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: Sit down, Mthimunye.
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: I think that is not the policy of the ANC. The
policy of the ANC is to grow people into small business even into
those small business that are constituted by scarce skills people.
We want our people to penetrate that market and grow themselves from
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that area because we want to believe that spaza shops and spaza
shops only are not cut and designed for black people. If some people
think that is the way to go ...
I think, in conclusion, I too ... as hon Skosana has made reference
to a song many times sung by Comrade Blade Nzimande ... I too am
born of the so-called ―kitchen girl and garden boy.‖
[Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, please take your seat.
Hon Hattingh?
Mr C HATTINGH: Hon Chair, I hate to repeat it, but the hon member
again referred to a Minister as a comrade. He is actually an hon
member. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Your point is taken. Hon Mthimunye, you
have heard the point of order.
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Thank you, Madam Chair. I too, like Comrade Blade
Nzimande, am born of a so-called ―kitchen girl and garden boy.‖
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mthimunye, it is very late in the
day. Refer to your comrade as Minister. [Interjections.]
18 MAY 2016
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Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Thank you, Madam Chair. I must ...
[Interjections.]
Mr C HATTINGH: Hon Chairperson ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Hattingh, is that another point of
order?
Mr C HATTINGH: Yes, it‘s actually the same one. My point is that you
reprimanded the member, and then he defied you by repeating what he
had said, and not withdrawing it. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Point taken. Hon Mthimunye?
Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: I however, Madam Chair, pride myself on being born
of these two ... couple ... this couple of decent human beings whom
some choose to refer to as kitchen girl and garden boy. That‘s why I
have grown into the decent and responsible human being that, I
think, I am today. [Interjections.]
It is out of this decency that I chose to join the ANC. It is this
ANC that I choose to join as a decent human being born of a garden
boy and a kitchen girl, but I thought I can change the lives of the
people of South Africa, and that of their offspring that they left
behind. May their souls rest in peace. Thank you. [Applause.]
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 95 of 102
The MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Hon Chairperson, thank
you very much, I would like to firstly, thank the hon members of the
ANC and other parties that have supported this budget. It is because
of the commitment of the ANC that this department was formed, and it
is because of our understanding of the importance of small and
medium enterprises and co-operatives in the future of the economy of
South Africa that we formed.
But, also hon Khawula, thank you very much for the other things that
you have said. I stand here and I always take what is positive from
those who are constructive in their engagement. I would also like to
say to you, that we support the top and the bottom of the pyramid.
That is why, we have the informal business upliftment programme as
well as IPAP, Industrial Policy Action Plan, to make sure that we
focus on those and the Gazelles programme. By the way, Chairperson,
it‘s interesting that the Gazelles programme was not accepted by the
DA and now I see that they talk positively about it.
Chairperson, I would like to say that we are addressing years of
disfranchisement. Unfortunately, for us every time we say so, we are
told that we are boring. But, the fact of the matter is that we are
addressing the imbalances of the past, where mainly, black small and
medium enterprises are competing with those that have been four to
five generations in small and medium enterprises. The situation was
created for them to be able to build their businesses.
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 96 of 102
We are in a competition, for instance, small farmers are competing
with experienced farmers, as the Farmer’s Weekly celebrated, not
long ago, 105 years of family farming – that is a 105 years of
experience versus a miserable 20 years of our democracy. That is
what we are dealing with. However, we are very sure of
transformation that it must happen, and that it is about accessing
markets, financial support, training, development and to put money
in the hands of the black people who have never had the opportunity.
So, that is why, our department is spending only 9% of its budget
and the rest of the budget has to go directly to support small
medium enterprises and co-operatives.
Hon Engelbrecht talked about business and the R1,5 billion that they
have put aside. I wish that member Engelbrecht can go back into my
speech and look at it. I know that it was a short time for you to
have been able to look into that speech. Statistics SA says to us
and this is the fact, ... when we talk about black people not being
in the space which they are supposed to be. Statistics SA says:
The total turnover of the private sector increased by 3,3% in
September 2015 quarter compared with the June 2015 quarter,
rising from the estimated R1,97 trillion to R2,04 trillion.
This is the money that sits with the private sector. We are talking
about R1,5 billion and we highly appreciate that. It‘s a start and
we say so, because we also want to work with a private sector. We
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 97 of 102
appreciate what they have put up in order to support small medium
enterprises. But, on the very day when this announcement was made
the Deputy President said ―the figure must be a double-digit
figure.‖ He said that it must be a double-digit figure, because if
you look at what I have just said now and the amount of money, which
the private sector is sitting on, it says there is something which
we need to do.
And, also when we say ―Nothing about us without us‖, hon Engelbrecht
- we mean everybody who is in government and the private sector. The
reason why there is a Department of Small and Medium Enterprises, it
is, because we are the champions and we remain the champions.
Please, don‘t claim the Minister of Finance. He is our Minister. He
was appointed by the President. [Applause.] So, don‘t put a wedge
between him and us – he is our Minister.
As for ...
... lo ohambile Sihlalo ngiyethemba ukuthi abantu abasemakhaya
bayazibonela ngokwabo imihlola esihleli nayo lapha ePhalamende.
Labantu laba abadeleli baqhuba intwala ngewisa. [Ubuwelewele.]
Ngelinye ilanga bazowukhomba umuzi onotshwala.[Ubuwelewele.]
Siyayisho le nto leyo.
Kodwa ke noma siqeda ukusho njalo, thina silethe le ntando yeningi
futhi siyayihlonipha le ntando yeningi. Uma behleli la besithuka,
bangake balinge bacabange ukuthi sihleli nje lapha noma sihleli
kwelinye icala ngoba singakwazi ukwenza lutho - yingoba le ntando
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 98 of 102
yeningi sayiletha, sayilwela, sayifela sizoyivikela siphinde
sifundise nabo laba abaqhuba intwala ngewisa.
Ngelinye ilanga bazowukhomba umuzi onotshawala ngoba akwemukelekile
Sihlalo ukuthi kube khona abantu abeza la eNdlini bacabange ukuthi
intando yeningi ngeyabo bodwa, hhayi nathi. Bacabanga ukuthi thina
uma sithulile, sithule ngoba singazi ukuthi kufuneka senzeni. Leyo
nto leyo kufuneka bahlale beyicabanga ukuthi ... (Translation of
isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[... this one who had left, Chairperson, I hope that people at home
see for themselves the shameful behaviour that we have to put up
with here in Parliament. These people are most disrespectful here.
[Interjections.] One day they will get what is coming to them.
[Interjections.] We are talking about this thing.
Though we have said that, we have brought this democracy here and we
respect it. When they sit here and throw insults at us, they should
not think that as we are seated here though we are sitting this
side, that does not mean that we cannot do anything – but it is
because we delivered this democracy, we fought for it, died for it
and we will protect it and educate these ones who are so
disrespectful.
One day they will get what is coming to them as it is not
acceptable, Chairperson, for people to come to the House and think
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 99 of 102
that democracy belongs only to them and excludes the rest of us.
They think that if we are quiet, it is because we do not know what
to do. They need to always think about that - that ...]
... this democracy is a democracy that we brought here.
Mr W F FABER: Chairperson, on a point of order: I just need clarity.
I don‘t see any members in this House at the moment, which the hon
Minister is speaks of, if she could just clarify who she‘s talking
about, please.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Faber, that is not a point of
order at all. Hon Minister, you are rounding off.
UNGQONGQOSHE WEZOKUTHUTHUKISWA KWAMABHIZINISI AMANCANE: Sihlalo
ngiphendula yonke imibuzo ngendlela yonke engingenza ngayo.
Ngiphendula izinto ezibekwe amalungu ale Ndlu. Ngiphendula labo
bantu, bayazazi bona labo bantu. Ngakho ke lingahlupheki ilungu
elihloniphekile. Bayazazi bona la bekhona. Ngicela ukubonga Sihlalo
ohloniphekile ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Chairperson, I am
responding to all the questions in whatever possible way. I am
responding to issues that were tabled by the members of this House.
I am responding to those people, they know themselves. The hon
18 MAY 2016
PAGE: 100 of 102
member should, therefore, not worry himself. They know themselves
wherever they are. I would like to thank you, hon Chairperson ...]
... for the opportunity that has been given to the department. I am
hoping that hon members can assist us in ensuring that our quest for
a co-ordinated approach of supporting small and medium enterprises
and co-operatives at national, provincial and local structures,
particularly your local economic development structures will be
assisted by yourselves. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The Council adjourned at 16:46.
__________
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
1.
Assent by President in respect of Bills
18 MAY 2016
(1)
PAGE: 101 of 102
Division of Revenue Bill [B 2 – 2016] – Act No 3 of 2016 (assented to and signed by
President on 17 May 2016).
1.
Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
(1)
The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 76 Bill:
(a)
National Land Transport Amendment Bill [B 7 – 2016] (National Assembly – sec
76).
National Council of Provinces
The Chairperson
1.
Message from National Assembly to National Council of Provinces in respect of Bills
passed by Assembly and transmitted to Council
(1)
Bills passed by National Assembly and transmitted for concurrence on 18 May 2016:
(a)
Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill [B 33B - 2015] (National
Assembly – sec 75).
The Bill has been referred to the Select Committee on Finance of the National
Council of Provinces.
18 MAY 2016
(b)
PAGE: 102 of 102
Appropriation Bill [B 3 - 2016] (National Assembly – sec 77).
The Bill has been referred to the Select Committee on Appropriations of the
National Council of Provinces.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Council of Provinces
Please see pages 4-5 of the ATCs.
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