The Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development has expressed its strong rejection of a progress report on the development status of cooperatives funded by the department since inception and intervention plan to address challenges identified.

“This report has long been overdue, since September last year, and the department appeared in February to ask for an extension, which was granted. However, the department is still presenting a sub-standard report with insufficient information. We were surprised that it was still trying to contact some of the cooperatives and municipalities to get information needed by the Committee as late as yesterday,” said Ms Nozabelo Bhengu, the Committee Chairperson.

The Committee requested the report because the Department of Small Business Development, through its Cooperative Incentive Scheme (CIS), has provided funding of R350 000 to each of the 400 agricultural primary cooperatives across the country.

Ms Bhengu said the Committee was most interested in the impact derived from the funding of the cooperatives, particularly in the number of jobs created, poverty reduction and community development.

“It was disheartening to listen to a report which implies that the department only focused on disbursing funds and could not account for how the money was used,” said Ms Bhengu.

Following its oversight visit to some of the funded cooperatives in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, the Committee viewed the service provided as inadequate and thus leading to cooperatives that struggle to thrive.

Ms Bhengu said: “The Committee is also concerned at the pace with which the department is moving to develop small businesses and cooperatives, and fears that the National Development Plan target of creating 9.9 million jobs by 2030 will not be achieved.”

The Committee expressed its frustration with the department’s Director-General, who avoided responding directly to questions and instead referred them to a new official who started work at the department on 1 April 2017.

The Committee also pointed out that it did not appreciate junior departmental officials, with no decision-making powers, being delegated to accompany the Committee on oversight visits.

The Committee gave the department another week to prepare a detailed report and return to Parliament with senior staff responsible for cooperatives as well as the Small Enterprise Development Agency and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, who will be able to provide the Committee with adequate answers.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, Ms Nozabelo Bhengu