[ad_1]
Parliament, Sunday, 29 October 2023 – A delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development has successfully concluded the Northern Cape leg of the public hearings on the National Small Enterprise Amendment Bill. The delegation conducted its last hearings in the province at Francis Baard District Municipality in Kimberly yesterday, where the Bill was overwhelmingly supported by the residents.
The residents applauded the establishment of the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombud Service. They made proposals to strengthen the Bill and they also highlighted several concerns on sections and clauses of the Bill that need to be corrected or deleted in the Bill.
Regarding the establishment of the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombud OSEO), the residents expressed that small business owners did not get the support they deserved from both private and public sectors and they were also mistreated. They said they welcome the establishment of the OSEO and they hope that it will uphold the principles of justice.
The participants believe that the future of the country depends on the success of the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). They told the committee that SMMEs are the key drivers of the economy and job creation. They called on the government to create and maintain a conducive environment that will promote their growth and development.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Faiez Jacobs, told the participants that the delegation was there to solicit their views on the Bill, to ensure that the people exercise their right to participate in the law-making process. He urged them to make their voices heard. “As the delegation, it will be appreciated if you can provide us with reasons why you support or reject the Bill and tell us whether in its current form it will fulfil its intended purpose,” he said.
A representative of the Diamond Chamber of Commerce and Industry indicated that they fully support the Bill and have few suggestions that they want to put forward for consideration by the committee. They submitted that the Bill is silent on the involvement of SMMEs within the decision making structures. They ululated in celebration of the slogan “nothing for us without us”.
The committee heard that there is no qualitative and meaningful transformation when it comes to SMMEs in the province, especially in the townships. SMMEs told the committee that they want the Bill to concentrate at local level where they exist in order to address their challenges.
The representative further submitted that the Bill should make provision for accountability forums within the SMMEs development space, as they believe very strongly that there is no accountability and as coordinators within the sector they want to play a meaningful monitoring and evaluation role when it comes to holding officials accountable and for impact assessments.
A representative of the Northern Cape Provincial Chamber of Youth Business stated that they fully support the Bill and indicated that it is silent on funding for SMMEs. The representative submitted that the Bill must be able to ensure that it deals with the issue of funding for SMMEs – just like there are childcare grants and old age grants in the country, he said.
The representative informed the committee that it must be mandatory in South Africa for SMMEs to apply for some form of grants as a social or economic relief. He also indicated that the Bill should make provision for the regulation of SMMEs in the food sector, particularly tuck shops, because tuck shops have suddenly been taken over by foreign nationals under the country’s watch with no government intervention, the committee was told.
The representative further called for the Department of Small Business Development to be decentralised to have provincial offices in order to ensure a full enforcement of this Bill in all provinces.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER OF DELEGATION OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, MR FAIEZ JACOBS.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Malentsoe Magwagwa (Ms)
Cell: 081 7165824
E-mail: mmagwagwa@parliament.gov.za
[ad_2]
Source link