Chairperson, Mr Deputy President, the townships and villages comprise of the poorest, marginalised and unemployed people in the country. With our poor education system, the people in these areas are unable to have access to economic opportunities, particularly in the formal economy.
Because of the lack of economic participation, social ills and a heavy reliance on social grants become the order of the day. Their only hope becomes the informal economy which has been expropriated from them. The informal economy all over the continent is reserved for the locals in any country. Countries with the fastest growing economies in Africa have specific legislation to
protect microeconomy for its citizens. For example, Ghana has an 8,8 GDP growth in 2019, for Ethiopia, it is 7,7% and in both these countries, the microeconomy is reserved for its citizens.
Therefore, the question to you is that, with big businesses such as Pick and Pay, Usave, Shoprite, that have now ventured into the township economy that is already dominated by foreign nationals, how are the locals going to benefit from the township economy if there is no legislation to protect them? Thank you.