Honourable House Chairperson, the ACDP positions that our economy lives and breathes off the success of entrepreneurial small businesses.
While government has implemented numerous programmes to support small business growth and development, the mountain of regulations are limiting. No one would stand for our national teams playing with their hands tied behind their back. Similarly, we should not allow millions of SMMEs to be held back from reaching their full potential due to red tape.
The sheer volume of legal compliance, regulations, policies, licensing and permits that business owners must deal with can easily add up to multiple days of compliance tasks every year – time that could instead be spent on building the business.
With regards to the establishment of the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombud, the ACDP agrees that this office must be used to create greater stability in the sector and advance economic opportunity through the creation of opportunities for small businesses.
We assert that access to finance is one of the most significant barriers to small business growth in South Africa, and this bill rightfully seeks to address this impediment.
Small businesses in South Africa often battle with inadequate infrastructure and technology. This includes poor internet connectivity, outdated technology systems and load shedding.
Government’s mismanagement and corruption uncovered at Eskom, means serious impediments to SBOs. Load shedding causes them to miss deadlines, resulting in late or no payment on concluded deals. Almost every small business has a negative story to tell in this regard.
The challenges of forecasted global and local recession can be alleviated by providing entrepreneurs with a supportive business environment that would spawn new, dynamic, innovative and competitive businesses.
Since small businesses account for a stunning 60% of our gross domestic product (GDP) and 70% of employment, they play a crucial role in assisting our economy to overcome some severe headwinds. This Bill must be used to remove the unnecessary red tape, allowing small business to ramp up production leading to job creation, poverty alleviation and economic health.
The ACDP supports this bill.
