The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Minister of Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, to urgently facilitate additional support and funding for self-employed individuals (sole proprietors), micro-retailers, and informal traders, during this lockdown period.
The party says businesses are under pressure because of the COVID-19 lockdown regulations.
“Self-employed individuals and informal traders are still left in the lurch with little to no assistance from the Department of Small Business Development since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown,” says the DA in a statement.
There are an estimated 3 million informal traders in South Africa.
The Department of Small Business Development has proven to be weak in its attempts to provide emergency relief to businesses. Even small business owners, who the Department has supposedly been assisting find themselves desperately trying to access funding and are not getting clear answers from government as to how they can get assistance.”
The party is asking Ntshavheni to update the nation on the Department’s relief assistance interventions for small businesses.
“For many SMEs, without adequate cash reserves or some kind of business insurance, this hard lockdown will deliver the final deathblow, putting an estimated 1.5 million jobs at risk. All of those employers and employees are deeply anxious and panic-stricken about their circumstances and future, so Minister Ntshavheni needs to play open cards with the public about how far the SEFA-administered Debt Relief Scheme is with receipt and finalisation of applications, disbursement of funds and reasons for delays or bottlenecks in the process. “
The party plans to submit parliamentary questions to the Minister regarding the matter. “And we also urge her to present it to the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development at its first virtual meeting, whose date is yet to be announced. “
The DA has welcomed the announcement of the guidelines for the Spaza Shops and General Dealers Support Scheme .
In the video below, political parties react to relaxed lockdown regulations:
