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South Africa needs more small businesses. It is therefore excellent news that the World Bank ranked South Africa as the top ranking country for access to credit for small to medium enterprises. It is a testament to our world-class financial institutions.

But it raises an important question: If our small businesses have the best access to financing in the world, then what is it that is holding back small business development in South Africa? And what can we do to eliminate these barriers?

The DA-run Western Cape government has identified red tape, skills shortages and restrictive labour and tax regulations as the vital barriers to growth. In response, our government has gone about significantly cutting red tape and instituting state-supported internship programmes for young people to build up the skills base of the youth in the province.

National government needs to do this across the country as well. The DA has also proposed a range of policies that would help businesses grow over time. These include reforms of our labour regime, a tax holiday for newly-found small businesses and scaled-up support through the small business corporation.

National government needs to seriously look at these proposals as part of its economic development agenda and I will liaise with the Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, to revisit discussions on this issue. The fact of the matter is that the financing for new businesses is there, but the regulation is holding us back and that needs to change.