The Black Business Council (BBC) and leading players in the business sector say promises made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA)remain largely unfulfilled.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver the 2026 SONA in Cape Town at 7 pm. But according to the BBC, there has been little movement on either the Transformation Fund or procurement reform.
“Unfortunately, nothing has been done regarding these regulations, and no one from National Treasury has said anything about this important matter for black business,” spokesperson for the BBC Masedi Sesele said in a media interview ahead of tonight’s SONA.
“Even though there has been some discussion about the fund, it is not in place as we speak.”
Sesele added that the regulations for the Public Procurement Act have not been published, leaving black businesses without guidance on how to access government contracts.
“Black businesses continue to struggle to access funding and procurement opportunities. Thriving black businesses will create much needed jobs and generate more consumers for products and services produced by other firms,” Sesele added.
He criticised the government for favouring larger corporations over black-owned enterprises.
“They even fail to pay black businesses on time, causing more to close down. [The] government should stop sloganeering and implement its own commitments, as can be seen by the two SONA promises, the Public Procurement Act regulations and the Transformation Fund, which are still not implemented.”
SONA 2025 promises in numbers
The planned R20 billion per year Transformation Fund was set to support black-owned and small enterprises annually for five years. Over 10 000 persons with disabilities were expected to benefit from skills programmes. The Presidential Employment Stimulus created almost 2 200 000 opportunities, while more than 80 000 jobs were linked to the Social Employment Fund.
Despite these figures, business leaders say the impact on small enterprises remains limited, with many struggling to access funding or meaningful procurement opportunities.
What the entrepreneurs are saying
Entrepreneurs on the ground paint a stark picture of these gaps. Realeboga Mangwegape, a disabled entrepreneur in the North West province, said the government must move beyond statistics to actual funding delivery.
“[The] government keeps publishing numbers on how many people they want to support, how much money is allocated, but for us, the disabled entrepreneurs, we don’t see any of that in practicality,” Mangwegape said.
“If they say they have a budget, if the numbers are there, then fund us. Don’t just put it on paper, but do a reality check. Fund the disabled farmers you claim to want to help, because we exist, we work, and we want to grow.”
Portia Kgomotso Segone, a young poultry entrepreneur, described the challenges youth entrepreneurs face in accessing funds.
“Honestly, I’m looking forward to hearing how he is going to make sure that the funds, especially from the Department of Agriculture, are accessible to the youth running small businesses,” Segone said. “In most cases, the people appointed to manage these funds don’t want them to work. In my case, someone from the Department of Agriculture said they would love to assist me, but I had to give them a certain percentage to access the fund. That’s not fair.”
She added that opportunities for training and knowledge building are scarce.
“Most leaders are not motivating us a few try, but most just drag us down.”
Looking Ahead to SONA 2026
As SONA 2026 approaches, the focus is on whether the government will turn commitments into tangible support for small businesses. The Small Business Institute (SBI), representing thousands of small enterprises, chambers of commerce, and business forums, has called on the President to prioritise practical delivery over policy announcements.
John Dludlu, CEO of SBI, said small business owners have demonstrated resilience despite rising criminality, slow economic growth, and bureaucratic hurdles. He warned that while government efforts have attempted to cut red tape, the system has returned to fragmented ways that layer new bureaucracy on top of old processes.
“We have noted a return to old fragmented ways by organs of state, layering new red tape on existing ones,” he said.
news@vutivibusiness.co.za
Related links:
https://vutivibusiness.co.za/business/small-business-sector-demands-more-action-than-words-in-sona/
