“South Africa Must Make it Easier for Small & Informal Businesses to Grow” – Ramaphosa #SONA2022
President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa must make it easier for small and informal businesses to grow.
Ramaphosa was delivering the 2022 State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
The presidents address comes on the the back of security concerns, rampant corruption and fraud, rising unemployment and a strained fiscus.
Ramaphosa said while structural reforms are necessary to revive economic growth, they are not enough on their own.
“This year, we are undertaking far-reaching measures to unleash the potential of small businesses, micro businesses and informal businesses. We have started discussions with social partners as part of the social compact process to review labour market regulations for smaller businesses to enable them to hire more people, while continuing to protect workers’ rights.”
Ramaphosa said a new, redesigned loan guarantee scheme is being introduced to enable small businesses to bounce back from the pandemic and civic unrest.
“This new bounce-back scheme incorporates the lessons from the previous loan guarantee scheme. We are reviewing the Business Act alongside a broader review of legislation that affects SMMEs to reduce the regulatory burden on informal businesses.”
Ramaphosa appointed ex-mining boss Sipho Nkosi as the person in charge of cutting red tape in government.
“There are too many regulations in this country that are unduly complicated, costly and difficult to comply with. This prevents companies from growing and creating jobs. The red tape team will identify priority reforms for the year ahead, including mechanisms to ensure government departments pay suppliers within the required 30 days.”
Ramaphosa said the Infrastructure Fund is at the centre of this effort with a R100 billion allocation from the fiscus over 10 years.
