Gauteng Premier David Makhura will on Wednesday 14 October 2015 launch the Qondis’ ishishini lakho (Fix Your Business) campaign, which will bring together various government agencies that deal with taxation, registration, funding, water, electricity and liquor licenses under one roof to provide immediate onsite assistance to businesses across Gauteng townships.

Envisaged as a form of a census on township businesses, the campaign will run until April 2016 and aims to register 10,000 township SMMEs with a turnover of less than R1 million. It is also aimed at changing perceptions about business registration and awakening township businesses to the benefits of business formalisation such as greater opportunities for funding, credit lending and greater market access.

Premier Makhura said that the campaign is part of Gauteng’s efforts to integrate township businesses into the value chains of big industries and sectors of the economy.

“The township economy is at the centre of our programme for radical economic transformation. We must work towards conditions where every rand generated from the township economy circulates within the township economy and benefits township residents. One way of doing this is by ensuring that township businesses are formalised and vigorously participate in the formal sectors of the economy” said Makhura.

Echoing these sentiments, Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Lebogang Maile said the campaign directly responds to challenges outlined by entrepreneurs during the Township Economic Revitalisation Roadshows conducted across 65 Gauteng townships last year.

“During the township economy revitalisation roadshows, entrepreneurs complained about the red tape involved in getting a business off the ground, especially about issues related to registration and permits, zoning, operational space, electricity and water connections. These challenges stifle the growth of many businesses” said Maile.

A study by the National Treasury and the World Bank titled Doing Business in South Africa 2015 which assessed the ease of doing business in 9 cities (including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Cape Town and Ethekwini) found that although South Africa’s business registration process is relatively cheaper, it is not time efficient and tends to be administratively tedious, requiring 6 procedures and 53 days, with lengthy delays in areas such as construction permits, new electricity connections, property transfers, tax registration and municipal rates clearance.
 
The details of the launch are as follows:

Date:           Wednesday, 14 October 2015
      
Time:           09h00 - 16h00      

Venue:        Ivory Park Community Hall, Ivory Park North Hall, Ext 3 (Cnr
Tokologo & Freedom Drive), Ivory Park, City of Joburg

For more information and to view the roadshow schedule, visit www.ecodev.gpg.gov.za/qondis or call 087 943 7170

For media enquiries please contact Ms. Phindile Kunene on 082 494 2409 / Phindile.kunene@gauteng.gov.za

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Issued by GCIS on behalf of the Department of Economic Development
13 October 2015