Date: 11/08/2003
Source: Deputy Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Visit of the dti business express to the Eastern Cape
SPEECH FOR THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, DURING THE VISIT OF THE DTI BUSINESS EXPRESS TO THE EASTERN CAPE, 11 August 2003
Dignitaries
Programme Director,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am very excited to be here during the visit of the dti business express to your town. It is significant for me that the dti business express has come to the Eastern Cape, a region that has become my home. When I first came to the Eastern Cape as a student many years ago, I was drawn in to activism and the struggle politics of this region. The Eastern Cape has a long and proud history in the struggle against racism and Apartheid, and has been able to produce many intellectuals and leaders. The skills acquired in those days trained us to become good leaders who understood how to organise and successfully participate and run structures. It is these skills that have served us well in the democratic South Africa and are needed in politics; these skills can also be of great use to run a business. Our challenge in a democratic South Africa is no longer Apartheid but pushing back the poverty that was created by the Apartheid state. We need to use all the skills that we have acquired over the years in order to do this and we need to use all the strategies available to us, such as small business development, in order to create jobs and alleviate poverty. It is important for me that the people of this region are able to turn those activist skills into business skills and find ways to help each other as we did prior to 1994.
One of the trends that have emerged over the past few years is that our people expect more from the government than it is able to provide. I recognise that we in government, as leaders and officials in the bureaucracy, need to be pushed to provide better and quality services to the people of this country but the people of South Africa have an important role that they need to play in order to growth this country economically. This so that the government has the resources to live up to these expectations and is able to build roads, fund schools, pay pensions, support children, provide clinics and much more.
It is with this in mind the message that I regularly give in business forums that I address, is to remind entrepreneurs about the role of government in the support of small businesses. We are a facilitator and a supporter of enterprises and we have established a number of mechanisms to assist SMMEs but it is the hard work of entrepreneurs themselves and the commitment to making their business work that is most important for the success of that enterprise, for economy of the region, and for the country. The government cannot start your business for you nor can we run it for you but what we can do and are trying very hard to do, is to assist you by offering advice, training, information, technology transfer, quality assurance, skills development and many other support mechanisms. Our biggest challenge is to ensure that this support is available to all entrepreneurs, across the country.
The function of the dti business express, the reason we are here today, is to explain what the government, through the dti is doing to support small businesses. The dti business express is also able to provide you business support and advice services. The dti business express has over the past year travelled to many of the smaller towns of South Africa and the rural areas of this country to share this information and provide this support. This is but one of the many efforts by the dti to make its services more accessible to the people of South Africa.
The growth and development of small towns and the rural areas of our country are very important for the economic and social development of our country but we often see that it is these areas that do not get the support that they need. This lack of support does not happen because we undervalue the importance of these areas to our country but rather because of the vastness of our country and the difficulties in adequately supporting the people and businesses in these areas. The dti has recognised this and is addressing this challenge through the running of the dti business express.
Ladies and gentlemen, programme director; while the dti express is an excellent initiative for the provision of business support services in the short term and will most definitely assist many businesses across the country in many different ways, I do not believe that as a long-term solution it is sustainable. I would like in the long term to see the establishment of permanent business support service centre in these localities and for these centres to be linked to the dti and its family of institutions. Given the number of small towns and the vastness of our rural areas it is not viable for the dti or its agencies to implement and co-ordinate such a programme without the active support of local government and provincial government. There are possibilities that we need to explore of how we can use existing infrastructure such as libraries, municipal offices or pay points to give support to entrepreneurs. I firmly believe that much more work needs to be done by national, provincial and local government to properly address the needs of entrepreneurs in small towns and rural areas.
The support that needs to be provided to entrepreneurs is not only financial support as is often thought by people. This support is very important, but is not sufficient to ensure the success of an enterprise. Our people need to be given advice on how to start a business, how to plan the operations and running of the business, and how to register the enterprise. They need support in the form of training so that they can run a business effectively and profitably. They also need to know how to market the products and services of their businesses and how to complete tender documents so that they can compete for government contracts. As businesses become more sophisticated so the possible support they require increases and for example, looks at improvements in technology, becoming aligned to international standards, etc.
We are aware that there are a number of challenges that face small businesses in South Africa and that these challenges are more acutely faced by enterprises in rural areas and small towns. The services that are being provided by the dti business express most definitely starts to address these challenges and during the course of today you will hear more about how we can assist you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the support that we as government provide to small businesses is very necessary if we want to develop and grow as a country and as an economy, which is why the dti business express is very relevant. As I said earlier it is through small business that we will be able to address a number of the key challenges that are facing our society, particularly in terms of the problems of unemployment, economic growth, and black economic empowerment. It is not only through businesses in the big cities that we will address these issues, it is through all businesses, throughout our country. Your business in your town or village is therefore an important part of making a success of this country.
Some of the work that the government is doing might not seem relevant to you, but it is work to improve the situation in the country so that the business environment is positive, and that South African businesses are able to expand their operations, that there are new international companies that are established in South Africa, and there are more opportunities available to local entrepreneurs. Through this work there are a number of exciting opportunities for businesses in South Africa today - we are a growing economy, an attractive international destination for tourists and we are increasingly an international supplier of manufactured goods. For those of you who are not yet in business or those of you who are looking to expand your horizons this presents an exciting opportunity. There will be a number of challenges to overcome in pursuing such opportunities but the rewards are great for those who work hard and are successful. Some examples of the opportunities, which are also accessible to businesses in small towns and rural areas of South Africa, are in the tourism, manufacturing for exports and in agro-processing.
As entrepreneurs you also need to start looking beyond the borders of your immediate town or village and looking at what is going on in the large industrial centres of South Africa and even at the international markets. I am sure that the business advisors who are here today can provide you with more information on what opportunities are available, how to go about accessing them and also to start looking at how the dti can support you in these ventures.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, I would like to thank you for coming to the dti business express and I hope that you will benefit from the information and support that will be given here today. I look forward to seeing your businesses grow and you becoming successful entrepreneurs.
Before I close I would like to ask that those businesses that are here today and have this opportunity to find out what the dti offers businesses, to take this information back to the business people who were not able to attend today.
I thank you for listening to me.
Issued by the Office of the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, 11 August 2003
Source: Deputy Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Visit of the dti business express to the Eastern Cape
SPEECH FOR THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, DURING THE VISIT OF THE DTI BUSINESS EXPRESS TO THE EASTERN CAPE, 11 August 2003
Dignitaries
Programme Director,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am very excited to be here during the visit of the dti business express to your town. It is significant for me that the dti business express has come to the Eastern Cape, a region that has become my home. When I first came to the Eastern Cape as a student many years ago, I was drawn in to activism and the struggle politics of this region. The Eastern Cape has a long and proud history in the struggle against racism and Apartheid, and has been able to produce many intellectuals and leaders. The skills acquired in those days trained us to become good leaders who understood how to organise and successfully participate and run structures. It is these skills that have served us well in the democratic South Africa and are needed in politics; these skills can also be of great use to run a business. Our challenge in a democratic South Africa is no longer Apartheid but pushing back the poverty that was created by the Apartheid state. We need to use all the skills that we have acquired over the years in order to do this and we need to use all the strategies available to us, such as small business development, in order to create jobs and alleviate poverty. It is important for me that the people of this region are able to turn those activist skills into business skills and find ways to help each other as we did prior to 1994.
One of the trends that have emerged over the past few years is that our people expect more from the government than it is able to provide. I recognise that we in government, as leaders and officials in the bureaucracy, need to be pushed to provide better and quality services to the people of this country but the people of South Africa have an important role that they need to play in order to growth this country economically. This so that the government has the resources to live up to these expectations and is able to build roads, fund schools, pay pensions, support children, provide clinics and much more.
It is with this in mind the message that I regularly give in business forums that I address, is to remind entrepreneurs about the role of government in the support of small businesses. We are a facilitator and a supporter of enterprises and we have established a number of mechanisms to assist SMMEs but it is the hard work of entrepreneurs themselves and the commitment to making their business work that is most important for the success of that enterprise, for economy of the region, and for the country. The government cannot start your business for you nor can we run it for you but what we can do and are trying very hard to do, is to assist you by offering advice, training, information, technology transfer, quality assurance, skills development and many other support mechanisms. Our biggest challenge is to ensure that this support is available to all entrepreneurs, across the country.
The function of the dti business express, the reason we are here today, is to explain what the government, through the dti is doing to support small businesses. The dti business express is also able to provide you business support and advice services. The dti business express has over the past year travelled to many of the smaller towns of South Africa and the rural areas of this country to share this information and provide this support. This is but one of the many efforts by the dti to make its services more accessible to the people of South Africa.
The growth and development of small towns and the rural areas of our country are very important for the economic and social development of our country but we often see that it is these areas that do not get the support that they need. This lack of support does not happen because we undervalue the importance of these areas to our country but rather because of the vastness of our country and the difficulties in adequately supporting the people and businesses in these areas. The dti has recognised this and is addressing this challenge through the running of the dti business express.
Ladies and gentlemen, programme director; while the dti express is an excellent initiative for the provision of business support services in the short term and will most definitely assist many businesses across the country in many different ways, I do not believe that as a long-term solution it is sustainable. I would like in the long term to see the establishment of permanent business support service centre in these localities and for these centres to be linked to the dti and its family of institutions. Given the number of small towns and the vastness of our rural areas it is not viable for the dti or its agencies to implement and co-ordinate such a programme without the active support of local government and provincial government. There are possibilities that we need to explore of how we can use existing infrastructure such as libraries, municipal offices or pay points to give support to entrepreneurs. I firmly believe that much more work needs to be done by national, provincial and local government to properly address the needs of entrepreneurs in small towns and rural areas.
The support that needs to be provided to entrepreneurs is not only financial support as is often thought by people. This support is very important, but is not sufficient to ensure the success of an enterprise. Our people need to be given advice on how to start a business, how to plan the operations and running of the business, and how to register the enterprise. They need support in the form of training so that they can run a business effectively and profitably. They also need to know how to market the products and services of their businesses and how to complete tender documents so that they can compete for government contracts. As businesses become more sophisticated so the possible support they require increases and for example, looks at improvements in technology, becoming aligned to international standards, etc.
We are aware that there are a number of challenges that face small businesses in South Africa and that these challenges are more acutely faced by enterprises in rural areas and small towns. The services that are being provided by the dti business express most definitely starts to address these challenges and during the course of today you will hear more about how we can assist you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the support that we as government provide to small businesses is very necessary if we want to develop and grow as a country and as an economy, which is why the dti business express is very relevant. As I said earlier it is through small business that we will be able to address a number of the key challenges that are facing our society, particularly in terms of the problems of unemployment, economic growth, and black economic empowerment. It is not only through businesses in the big cities that we will address these issues, it is through all businesses, throughout our country. Your business in your town or village is therefore an important part of making a success of this country.
Some of the work that the government is doing might not seem relevant to you, but it is work to improve the situation in the country so that the business environment is positive, and that South African businesses are able to expand their operations, that there are new international companies that are established in South Africa, and there are more opportunities available to local entrepreneurs. Through this work there are a number of exciting opportunities for businesses in South Africa today - we are a growing economy, an attractive international destination for tourists and we are increasingly an international supplier of manufactured goods. For those of you who are not yet in business or those of you who are looking to expand your horizons this presents an exciting opportunity. There will be a number of challenges to overcome in pursuing such opportunities but the rewards are great for those who work hard and are successful. Some examples of the opportunities, which are also accessible to businesses in small towns and rural areas of South Africa, are in the tourism, manufacturing for exports and in agro-processing.
As entrepreneurs you also need to start looking beyond the borders of your immediate town or village and looking at what is going on in the large industrial centres of South Africa and even at the international markets. I am sure that the business advisors who are here today can provide you with more information on what opportunities are available, how to go about accessing them and also to start looking at how the dti can support you in these ventures.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, I would like to thank you for coming to the dti business express and I hope that you will benefit from the information and support that will be given here today. I look forward to seeing your businesses grow and you becoming successful entrepreneurs.
Before I close I would like to ask that those businesses that are here today and have this opportunity to find out what the dti offers businesses, to take this information back to the business people who were not able to attend today.
I thank you for listening to me.
Issued by the Office of the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, 11 August 2003
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