ME representative organisation AHI has expressed its disappointment with government’s proposed Radical Social Economic Transformation, announced by President Zuma during his State of the Nation Address at Parliament in Cape Town. AHI President Bernard Swanepoel said AHI recognised that transformation had been slow, but he expressed his concern that the president and government was not seeking market-led solutions. Mr Swanepoel said improved education and training and a thriving small business sector was internationally recognised as the prerequisite for solid economic growth and development. He cautioned government against enforcing artificial ownership transfers and introducing new tender provisos which would simply lead to greater government expenditure and increased levels of corruption. He again invited government to take hands with the private sector in a genuine search for economic solutions. Mr Swanepoel said the answer could not lie in measures which would scare off investors and further weaken economic growth.

Bernard Swanepoel is the President of AHI, the voice of small business for 74 years.