The Small Business Institute notes that the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development has lost its patience that the Department of Small Business Development (DBSD) has been for years unable to describe, let alone fulfil, its mandate. By summoning senior management of the DBSD to present a revised strategic plan immediately, Chairman Ruth Bhengu demonstrates she is as gatvol as we are as representatives of business chambers and the country’s SMEs expecting the government to create the enabling environment it’s been promising since 1995.
It is for this and other reasons the SBI has been saying that every minister in the Cabinet should be a minister of small business. SMEs are not a ‘sector’ they are a segment of every sector. We call on President Ramaphosa to collapse the DBSD and install a strategic, coordinating team in the presidency to oversee the transformation of SMEs from the Cinderella of our economy to their rightful place as job creators and inclusive growth drivers.
Contact:
SBI Communications Director: Siki Mgabadeli
082 925 6469
012 348 5440
leandre@smallbusinessinstitute.co.za
