Questions and Replies
24 August 2015 - NW2435
Gqada, Ms T to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
What amount did (a) her department and (b) each entity reporting to her spend on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (aa) 2012-13, (bb) 2013-14 and (cc) 2014-15 financial years?
Reply:
(a) The Department of Small Business Development did not spend any amount on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun since its inception.
(b) The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa)
Sefa did not spend any amount on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (aa) 2012-13 financial year.
Sefa spent R45 280 and R48 963 on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in (bb) 2013-14 financial year respectively.
Sefa did not spend any amount on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (cc) 2014-15 financial year.
(b) The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda)
Seda spent R421 309.80 and R821 370 on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (aa) 2012-13 financial year respectively.
Seda spent R271 351.66 and R194 438.40 on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (bb) 2013-14 financial year respectively.
Seda spent R204 070.60 and R239 260.18 on advertising in (i) Sowetan and (ii) Daily Sun in the (cc) 2014-15 financial year respectively.
24 August 2015 - NW1985
Chance, Mr R to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
(1)What interaction has (a) she and/or (b) her department had with a certain company (Simodisa) (2) what was the outcome of such interaction?
Reply:
(1) (a) The Minister has not formally met with the Simodisa Company. The Minister only met informally with the company on the margins of another engagement.
(b) The Department of Small Business Development has never had any interaction with the Simodisa Company.
31 July 2015 - NW2534
Lekota, Mr M to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
Whether his department and/or the Government was pursuing any programme or implementing any policy to make townships in South Africa economically viable through (a) incubating small manufacturing businesses and transferring these to qualifying entrepreneurs in the townships, (b) developing suitable small factories in the townships, supported with the necessary infrastructure, to attract families or groups to set up small-scale manufacturing businesses, (c) interacting with other relevant departments and stakeholders to promote artisanal businesses using township creativity and talent, (d) setting up a one-stop business and manufacturing service and support centers in each township to provide assistance with regulations and skills transfer and (e) creating a scheme for township entrepreneurs to obtain affordable family or group loans; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(a) The department is in the process of development a Township and Rural Economic Development Strategy that will be aimed at supporting informal businesses, SMMEs, Co-operatives, youth, gender, people with disabilities, and rural enterprises. The support will range from the provision of financial and non-financial support to the creation of an enabling legislative and regulatory environment.
Currently, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) works closely with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (seda) in relation to government’s small business incubation programme called the Seda Technology Programme (STP). Seda is the custodian of the government’s incubation programme and provides incubating businesses with non-financial and affordable rental space. Sefa in turn, provides financial support in the form of working capital, asset financing and revolving loan facilities to qualify businesses in these incubation centres.
(b) Sefa, administers a property portfolio comprising a mixture of commercial and industrial properties in the provinces of Gauteng, North-West, Free State, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. These are old properties that were inherited from the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), now known as Business Partners, and are located in townships and peri-urban areas and provide affordable industrial premises to manufacturing enterprises. As at 31 March 2015, sefa provided support to 958 entrepreneurs through its property portfolio. These are old properties which were
(c) The department, together with the Departments of Arts and Culture, Economic Development and Tourism, Sports and Culture, provincial investment promotion agencies and the South African Bureau of Standards work together to promote artisanal businesses using township creativity and talent. The National Craft and Design Coordinating Body (NCDCB), in which all the stakeholders mentioned are represented, monitors the implementation of the craft and design programmes at national and provincial level. The NCDCB also serves as a platform through which government departments and the provincial agencies coordinate the information on the craft and design programmes.
31 July 2015 - NW1641
Chance, Mr R to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
(1) What steps has she taken to engage with the (a) Premier of Gauteng and (b) Small Enterprise Finance Agency to urgently address the state of neglect and disrepair at Gauteng’s township industrial parks; (2) does her department intend to investigate claims by the parks’ tenants that they were promised titles to their premises after 10 years of continuous payment of occupational rent; if not, why not? NW1858E
Reply:
1. (a) Minister is seriously concerned about the poor state of the Gauteng’s township industrial park and although has not engaged with the Premier of Gauteng regarding the matter, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), which reports to the Department of Small Business Development, is handling the matters of Gauteng’s township industrial parks.
(b) So far Sefa has reported that it will engage with the Office of the Premier of Gauteng through the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) in order to understand the Gauteng Province’s plans for property revitilisation. Sefa is in the process of conducting visits to the industrial parks to determine the extent of neglect and disrepair on these industrial parks: this includes assessing the physical state of these properties in order to perform all the necessary repairs and maintenance to these properties in the coming months.
2. Sefa has done investigations to the validity of these claims, and has so far obtained some information on the matter dating back to 1999. During the 2014/15 financial year, Sefa held discussions with the Tenants Association on the terms and conditions of transfer of ownership of these properties. Sefa is now in a process to meet individual Tenants Associations to discuss the framework for the transfer of ownership of these properties to tenants who qualify under the initial framework for transfer.
31 July 2015 - NW2335
Kruger, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
(1) Whether there has been any effort by her department to review the regulatory environment in which small businesses operate in an effort to ease their operations; (2) whether, since her reply to question 1766 on 5 June 2015, any transversal agreements have been concluded with other departments; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2696E
Reply:
1. The department intends to review the National Small Business Act, 1996 (Act No. 102 of 1996), read with the National Small Business Amendment Act, 2003 (Act No. 26 of 2003). The reasons to introduce an amending legislation are to provide for the alignment of the Act to the mandate of the department, to provide a framework for business growth,
investment and the facilitation of small business development and promotion.
The areas to be reviewed are as follows:
- The definitions of small businesses,
- The schedule or sectoral classifications,
- Provision for the informal economy,
- Provision for the roles of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa),
- To institutionalise the coordination of a periodical national survey for SMMEs, and
- The role and composition of the Small Business Advisory Council.
2. The department has not concluded any transversal agreements with other departments since the last reply. This is partly due to the complexity of requirements and conditions which must be met and be favourable to all parties. As a result, consultations take longer and require a detailed execution plan with specific deliverables and timelines.
The department, however, intends to conclude and sign a transversal agreement with the National Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) by the end of 2015 in which the parties have mutually agreed to collaborate on training and development of co-operatives and SMMEs. The overall aim of this collaboration is to develop and enhance the capacity base of these small businesses to enable them to access procurement opportunities within PRASA. The department will be responsible for the building capacity of the suppliers with regards to technical and business management training whilst DHET, through the relevant Skills Education and Training Authorities (Setas), will provide technical training to co-operatives and SMMEs.
The department also intends to conclude transversal agreements with the following institutions in the near future:
- Department of Human Settlements: to focus on procurement opportunities for small businesses and co-operatives in the development of industrial or commercial parks in the Western Cape.
- Department of Public Enterprises: to develop and prioritise support and increase opportunities for emerging small businesses and designated groups through diverse small business support programmes.
- Massmart: partnership with Massmart is focused on the Supplier Development Programme to improve local procurement linkages for Cooperatives and SMMEs. The programme will focus on three main areas: manufacturing, fresh produce and services to suppliers.
- SAB Miller: the focus is on procurement opportunities to improve local linkages for Cooperatives and SMMEs. The programme will focus on three main areas: Maize, Barley and Wheat production.
- The Swiss Confederation, represented by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO): the overall goal of the pilot project is to establish a web-based centralized system where Business Development Service Providers (BDSP) register after a quality check, and will be assessed by their clients based on the performance of the service delivered. This will allow for the identification of the skills gap of services providers.