Mr Speaker, economists have calculated that in order to create five million new jobs, as envisaged by the New Growth Path, we need to create a million new job creators, that is, private sector employers and small, medium and micro enterprises in particular. However, South African entrepreneurs are stifled on a daily basis in their attempts to establish small businesses, to hire new workers, to grow their businesses and to drive the virtuous cycle of economic growth and job creation. South Africa ranks 44th in the world for ease of starting a business, and the World Economic Forum ranks us 112th in the world in terms of the burden of government regulation. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that only 9,1% of eligible South Africans are engaged in entrepreneurial activity.
As the Deputy President mentioned earlier, the New Growth Path focuses on state-led interventions and public sector interventions to try and boost job creation. Clearly, the answer is that we need to foster a thriving and vibrant small business private sector. The New Growth Path does not offer any new ideas about how we can do this. So, what is this government going to do to turn the situation around, given that small business development is such an imperative part of job creation and economic growth? Thank you.