Deputy Speaker, the DA has always maintained that small business development is not a policy imperative that should solely be confined to a single part of government. That is our position that this department is entirely unnecessary. Rather, small business development should be championed across numerous portfolios where it has direct relevance. From Home Affairs, we should have a start up visa regime to incentivise foreign investors to bring in capital and start from enterprises to tourism were large numbers of
small make up the tourism sector such as guest houses and tour operators.
With the youth unemployment rate reaching almost 60% in the third quarter of this year, there can be no illusions, ifs or buts, about the urgency of boosting job creating growth, especially for the unskilled and those lacking work experience. Small businesses can and must be the key driver of job creation and skills developments, but they cannot do so if they are hamstrung by red tape.
That is why the DA will continue to champion the passing of the Red Tape Reduction Bill during this sixth Parliament, echoing the one that we introduced at the Private Members Bill in the fifth Parliament that can ensure a more enabling environment for small business.
South Africa need not flounder in high and growing unemployment. With the flourishing small business sector, we can catalyse an economy where labour is absorbed, skills are developed in alignment with real need in the economy and growth is generated to produce shared prosperity for all. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, the Department of Small Business must be shut down. It is an unnecessary layer of administration. This department does not help small businesses. In 2016, baba ka Duduzane and Jamnandas, promised a new Public Procurement Bill which will assist to set aside 30% of small businesses and that was a lie, it was never an intention in the first place.
The failed National Development Plan, NDP, said that small business will prioritise promoting employment in labour intensive industries and that was also a lie. Instead, small businesses have failed under the leadership of hon Ginger. [Interjections.] Now unemployment is sitting at 29,1% and almost 10 million people willing and looking for jobs everyday cannot find work.
We made recommendations that should be at the core of the report, but were ignored. Instead, people are investing energy and time on meaningless and jobless fanfare called investment conferences. The government must instruct municipalities and state-owned companies to buy goods locally manufactured. If it is a hospital and its based
in Maritzburg, all its linen bedding and patients clothing and food for patients must come from farmers and manufacturers and the majority of them must be women and youth owned.
The majority of small businesses, especially manufacturers, can not get their products to the shelves in most privately owned. Government must start building malls to expand the shelves space for locally manufactured products. It must also build malls at municipal level.
Lastly, let's close the department and move back its functions to the Department of Trade and Industry and ensure that small businesses are at the centre of South Africa's industrial policy. The EFF, vehemently, rejects the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development. [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, it was Sir Richard Branson, the owner of the Virgin Group companies, who appropriately stated that:
"All great ventures start from small and humble beginnings".
It all begins with an idea and innovation, away of doing something better, doing it faster and more efficiently, in providing the customer with the much needed product or service. In so doing, employment opportunities are created, economic growth is generated and citizens are lifted above poverty lines.
Small business is indeed an incubator to social economic growth and yet in South Africa, it seems we are continuing to do our outmost, to stifle such entrepreneurship and business development, through lack of access to funding and to markets in general especially, in our rural areas and townships.
Big established businesses, also appear intend ... [Inaudible.] ... such entrepreneurship, perhaps seemingly afraid that they will lose market share. This mindset requires realignment in favour of small local business as dust the current thinking around financial setups that are deemed to be too risky for our banks to finance.
Small Enterprise Development Agency, SEDA, appears hopefully inadequate despite government's assurance that funds will be provided more readily. So, what should the government be doing?
Unfortunately your time is finished. You can't tell us what government should do. [Laughter.]
The IFP will support the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development. [Time expired.]
Declarations of vote (contd):
Hon Deputy Speaker, this department has been a failure from the start. Firstly, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and are very important. But the fact of the matter is that all government departments should be creating a conducive environment for small businesses to strive and be developed; not only one department.
This one department does have certain incentives and certain programmes aimed at developing small businesses
and creating access to funds for those small businesses. The problem is that this department allows those programmes and funds to be misused and abused.
The Auditor-General, AG, found that there are no measures in place to prevent one beneficiary from applying more than once to these financial schemes; and that there are no measures in place to prevent government officials to also apply for these incentives, which they are not allowed to do.
So, this department is a complete failure. It's a failure that's failing our economy. It's not doing what it's supposed to do. This department should not exist; it's a black hole for tax payers' money and at the end of the day small businesses and those people that should be benefitting from these schemes are not benefitting, a small elite are benefitting.
The AG goes further to say that there's noncompliance; that the department is not complying to the measures and with the legislation and regulations in terms of the incentive schemes. This is unacceptable and this
department should be shut down immediately. I thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, the ACDP is very concerned about the minimal impact that the Department of Small Businesses, Development and Cooperatives currently has in developing and assisting small businesses; particularly as this has a direct impact on our slow- growing economy and high unemployment rate.
The department is expected to create around 90% of the
11 million jobs envisaged by the national Development Plan, NDP, by 2030. But this cannot be achieved until some employees undergo a radical change of attitude.
The department must do much more and all that it can to root out corruption and strongly deal with those who steal from well-deserving applicants for assistance and young entrepreneurs.
We agree with those who say the department has failed out people. But when looking at the recommendations and corrective action that the committee has proposed, we
agree with the recommendations, particularly those aimed at dealing expeditiously with issues of underperformance, filling vacant strategic posts and addressing the 80% failure rate of cooperatives. And those - we believe - who are responsible for financial mismanagement must face consequences. There has not been enough consequences and people had been allowed to continue stealing and looting and disadvantaging those that have applied.
So, the ACDP believes if the recommendations that have been given would be taken seriously and implemented, that there could be a change and a turnaround in the department. Thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, the work of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development is cast in great clarity and we, therefore, expect that the department will shoot through all cylinders.
The committee, having assessed the work of the department and its entities, recommended that the review of the National Small Enterprise Act of 1996 must be accelerated and tabled to the committee in line with the Department
of Small Business Development's annual performance plan, 2019-20. And that the department should consider enhancing the role of Small Enterprise Development Agency, Seda, in the adjudication, allocation and monitoring processes of the incentive schemes.
Tshepo Dishodu from Matatiele follows the work of this Parliament and its committee with great interest. He is watching us right now. Tshepo runs a small community tourism trust in the rural-flung areas of Matatiele. The Mehloding Tourism Trust runs a hiking enterprise for the local tourists, which provides accommodation resorts for the local tourists in the Eastern Cape. His enterprise has elevated the pulse of tourism footprints in the area. It has created entrepreneurial opportunities for the local youth.
The Mehloding Tourism Trust is, however, underfunded. Structural handicaps and barriers to entry are not the only markers stifling the growth of small and medium- sized enterprises in the area.
In our view, funding is the greatest improvement to enterprise development [Time expired.] Thank you very much. The AIC supports the Bill.
Deputy Speaker, the ANC supports the Budget Review Recommendations, BRR, Report of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development.
The department and its entities' overall performance was good as it achieved the majority of its indicators and attained unqualified audit opinion with few areas of improvement.
The portfolio committee has taken counsel from the AG to assist the department to assist on areas of underachievement; most of which have been largely attributed to vacancy rates in the higher echelons of the department.
While the two agencies, Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa and Seda performed extremely well and went on to achieve unqualified clean audits.
We noted in concern the high mortality levels in small enterprises especially cooperative enterprises.
The portfolio committee is working with the department in identifying key bottlenecks such as bureaucratic red tape, challenges to access of finance and markets as well as infrastructure impediments.
The portfolio committee and the department will continue with partnerships with the private and public sector with the view to dealing with these challenges.
This BRR Report comes at a time when our unemployment rate is unacceptable at 29,1%.
We know that small business is everybody's business and so as the ANC that is in government, we will review the procurement models and framework to address the development needs and also to look at endued ease with doing business and government efficiency and accountability.
In line with the President's emphasis in the state of the nation address, government is committed to increasing local demand amongst other things, increase proportion of local goods and services procured by government [Time expire.] The ANC supports this BRRR. Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, there must be a name in the box if we are going to create the millions of jobs that this Sixth Parliament supports. You can't spread the responsibility over too many departments over too many Ministers, there must be a name in the box, and I feel that the Sixth Parliament must give the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, the Minister, and the changes that are going to happen, a chance so that we can create the millions of jobs that everyone is looking forward to.
Don't judge the present leadership from what has happened in the past. I feel that the Sixth Parliament must support the initiative of the small business development portfolio committee and its leadership.
AL JAMA-AH supports the Report. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Question put
Division demanded
Voting
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.