Chairperson,

Minister, as you well know, your department is the engine room of the South African economy. While interventionist policies to kick-start economic development in crucial areas are important, the most important policy position should be one of light touch regulation, regulation focused on socio-economic and not racial equity, and the creation of an enabling environment for business to thrive.


Minister, while the new Companies Act has done a lot to ensure access to easier business and the CIPC has managed to diminish the backlog in company registrations, and that deserves acknowledgement, there is a sense that business is just not getting out of its starting blocks. It is a fact that most jobs are created within the small business segment. The National Development Plan states that 90% of jobs to be created in order to reduce unemployment to 6% by 2030 will come from the small business sector. This means that the DTI will have to stop focusing only on large so-called developmental projects, but gear the IDC to seriously look at small business development as well. What we need to unleash the creative and economic power of small business in this country is to carve out a completely libertarian space within the economic environment. This means that small business must be exempted from regulation like, affirmative action, BBBEE, taxes, introduce legislation to enforce punctual payment by large businesses and government to protect small business cash flow, and ensure that banks make lending to small business easier as opposed to dishing out unsecured credit (this should be part of the banking sector score card but not based on race). Lastly, entrepreneurship must be made a compulsory subject in schools and not left for MBA programmes. This recipe is what Clem Sunter refers to as the alternative national democratic revolution and it will work if implemented for it did so in China, amongst other countries.


Minister, we have said this time and again: there are many white people out there who want to start small businesses that can create employment and help develop disadvantaged persons, but they are systematically sidelined. Therefore, when it comes to small business, show us what true inclusivity means by releasing them from the regulatory strictures based on race so that they can also, as true citizens, participate in the economy, create jobs and ensure that you have a future tax base. It will be a win-win situation for everyone.