By: Zandile Majavu
The National Small Enterprise Amendment Bill, which is set to boost the SMME sector, will be adopted by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on April 16th, says Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. She was speaking at the Proudly South African Buy Local Summit in Sandton this week, which saw over 200 exhibitors showcasing their products.
“Exactly one year ago, I addressed this summit and committed to many policy reforms that the government has undertaken to create an environment for our SMMEs to flourish, and among them was the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman, which necessitated that we amend the National Small Enterprise National Act. “I am pleased to [announce] that today my department is presenting to the select committee of the NCOP,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.
She further said that the department was advised that by the 16th of April, the Bill would be adopted by the NCOP as the National Assembly has already adopted the amendments. “We have that the government must be able to pay SMMEs within 30 days, and very few are getting paid on that time, and we know that this is the major contributing factor to the sustainability of the SMEs that are doing work, she said.
Among other things, the Bill is meant to create a level playing field and address issues of unfair practice including the late payment of SMMEs by the government and the private sector. Ndabeni-Abrahams told the summit that the global economy remained stagnant. But with the projected and current growth expected to come from the developing economies of the global South – Africa’s time was coming. “The world has seen a regression in trade except for intra-African trade, which is on the up. This is set to increase with the recent launch of the AFCFTA agreement, – African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
“We might also need to think about a proudly African brand that can learn valuable insights from the highly successful, proudly SA brand,” she added. Meanwhile, Proudly South African CEO Eustace Mashimbye said that Proudly South African commissioned a study to investigate what would the results be If there was a 10% increase in investment in the manufacturing sector as a whole. “What will drive that 10% increase is a 10% increase in buying locally manufactured products. We would see a projected 13% increase because of the 10% increase in investment into the manufacturing sector, and a 9% increase in fiscal revenue would be generated,” Mashimbye said.
