Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu says her department has witnessed enormous progress for small businesses over the last three years, although there are challenges.
The Minister was speaking at the progressive business forum at the African National Congresses’ 54th elective conference in Johannesburg.
She has urged government departments and big businesses to support SMMEs and has pleaded with South Africans to buy locally-made products to boost the sector.
The Small Business Development Minister says the revitalisation of townships is important for the development of small businesses.
Despite progress made in her department, the Minister says small businesses still face a number of challenges.
“Many of your small and medium enterprises are having to compete with big companies who have deeper pockets, who have been operating for a very long time and they are supposed to be competing. Yes, there is a political will to make sure that we support, but a political will on its own not being supported by real activities, by real financial and non-financial.”
Zulu says the ANC will be finalising policies that they undertook at the ANC Policy Conference in June and will endorse some proposals for the sector.
She says the party is aware that serious intervention is needed in the wake of the poor economic climate.
Her department has also pushed for government departments to procure more from small businesses.
“The ANC identified the areas in which we need to deal with in supporting the SMME’s. For instance, in 2012, it encouraged the creation of new businesses co-operatives and expansion of small businesses by reducing cost of compliance and ensuring that payment of government invoices for the adoption of 30% procurement and that is now in place.”
The Minister says the ANC has also supported SMMEs in the ICT value chain.
“I was very excited by the department of posts and telecommunications, because when we engaged with them over the ICT sector and the opportunities that exist there for small and medium enterprises. They then decided that they will go and develop a strategy that is aimed at supporting SMMEs and this strategy was adopted by Cabinet.”
The Minister is calling for speedy land reform to transform the agricultural sector.
She says this will help greatly to expand entrepreneurship in the country.
“South Africans and black South Africans, in particular, need the land and they need to be assisted with skills in order for them to utilise that land adequately. And therefore, when we talk about the farmers who are owning tracks and tracks of this land with very little transformation there. We are calling on the farmers to say this is our country and this is your country, but if you don’t walk with us on this tomorrow we might have a bigger problem, which we might not be able to deal with.”
Government says it will look at removing red tape and streamlining businesses to help expand the sector.
The Minister says her department cannot work alone and has encouraged businesses and other sectors of society to assist.
