Committee strategic planning workshop; DSBD and SEDFA strategic plans; with Deputy Minister

The Committee met for a strategic workshop and also to consider the strategic plans of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA). The Committee was provided with figures on jobs created in small and medium enterprises and informed of the targets for job creation and financial and non-financial support for start-up enterprises. Figures were also given on support for informal enterprises and the targets for graduating them into the formal sector. The National Policy Framework on Incentives for Small Enterprises would be developed, and the mid-term plan was to see 500 000 small enterprises supported financially and non-financially. The Committee was briefed on plans to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. Efforts were being made to mainstream red tape reduction across every government department and public entity and to develop overarching legislation of red tape reduction. Red tape and compliance challenges, especially in rural and township areas, were making it difficult for businesses to scale up. A key challenge was the difficulty small enterprises had in accessing funding from development finance institutions and government agencies. Current processes were complex, and financial products were often misaligned with the needs of smaller businesses. The regulatory environment needed to be streamlined. SEDFA told the Committee that it wanted to establish a multi-stakeholder platform where it would bring together government departments, development agencies, financial institutions, academia, and private sector players to align efforts to develop small businesses. The five-year target was to have one million small enterprises supported financially and non-financially. SEDFA would facilitate blended finance that combined grants, loans, and equity to support different stages of enterprise growth. It would encourage public and private sector procurement from small enterprises. Key challenges were insufficient funding and fiscal constraints. Capital raising initiatives through stakeholder engagement would be enhanced. Because of high impairment rates, a new strategy was being developed to deal with old and irrecoverable bad debts and refine the collection process. The Committee was also briefed on its strategic plan for 2024-2029 for the Seventh Parliament. Objectives were to improve executive accountability, increase public participation in lawmaking, and boost parliamentary efficiency through digital transformation. The strategic plan document noted that there was no uniform approach in handling appointments to public institutions supporting democracy. A standardised appointment and removal procedure would give effect to the constitutional obligation of Parliament to ensure the independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness of these institutions. Parliament aimed to improve existing mechanisms for tracking and reporting on the responsiveness of the executive towards resolutions taken in Parliament. Currently, there is no effective machinery by which Parliament could compel the executive or an organ of state to answer to it. Members raised concerns about a lack of response from the DSBD to issues raised by the Committee. They said they were glad to see both SEDFA and the Department were serious about red tape reduction and asked how the DSBD was working on this with other departments.