Given how Covid-19 PPE money was stolen from the public purse, it will not be surprising if the real intention of establishing the fund is to steal from the public.
Furthermore, the bill in its current form will not cut the existing red tape that small businesses have to face when trying to secure funding from government, but will rather create more red tape for businesses operating in township areas.
As its objective, the bill wants to create a regulatory framework (read more rules) for people living in townships to establish businesses, a regulatory framework (even more rules) for businesses operating in townships, and more procurement rules for government departments.
For small businesses to prosper, we need fewer rules and more incentives for businesses that operate in the township space and for innovators and entrepreneurs in our townships.
To ensure that our township businesses flourish we should declare our townships in Gauteng, especially the old townships that existed before 1994, as Township Special Economic Zones. We should incentivise businesses, especially those manufacturing businesses that invest in townships.
A bold bill would have been one that seeks to turn the townships into light industrial manufacturing and employment hubs rather than create even more rules.
The failure of township economic development is not the lack of a bill but rather a lack of imagination, leadership and political will. This bill should not be supported and existing legislation should rather be used to develop our townships’ economies so that they become thriving business hubs that will ensure a better life for our residents.
Gana is the DA shadow MEC for economic development in Gauteng
Township economies need our support, not new looting entities
It's no secret that the unemployment rate in Gauteng is extremely high and the Covid-19 pandemic has not helped.
Just before the pandemic hit our country and province, the Gauteng provincial government introduced the Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill.
During his state of the province address (Sopa) this week, premier David Makhura again highlighted the high unemployment in the province and the need to simulate the township economy. According to Makhura, this will best be done through the Township Economic Development Bill.
The bill is supposed to help stimulate our township economy and relieve the current economic pains of unemployment and poverty experienced by many township households. However, the bill in its current form, as drafted by the department of economic development, will not offer any relief to township residents.
Upon closer inspection of the bill, there is nothing bold or innovative about, it except of course the flowery language that has been used to give our politicians and residents the illusion that it will be their saving grace.
The problem with this new bill is that there is already an entity that has been established to help entrepreneurs run successful businesses, called the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP). Instead of this entity being used effectively, the Township Economy Bill now makes provision for the establishment of the Gauteng Township Development Fund.
This can be managed within existing legislation and township-based enterprises can be licensed and managed through provincial legislation and municipal bylaws.
The envisaged fund will guzzle the little funds allocated to it on operational matters rather than assisting innovators, entrepreneurs and small business owners. The fund will have its own board, employees and most likely offices. The end result is that our province will have two entities, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) and the Gauteng Township Development Fund practically serving the same purpose and clientele.
If the Gauteng government under Makhura was genuine about assisting entrepreneurs and small business owners based in townships they would create a programme within GEP targeting township-based enterprises. But no, this provincial government has seen it fit to create another entity, therefore masking their real intention.
Given how Covid-19 PPE money was stolen from the public purse, it will not be surprising if the real intention of establishing the fund is to steal from the public.
Furthermore, the bill in its current form will not cut the existing red tape that small businesses have to face when trying to secure funding from government, but will rather create more red tape for businesses operating in township areas.
As its objective, the bill wants to create a regulatory framework (read more rules) for people living in townships to establish businesses, a regulatory framework (even more rules) for businesses operating in townships, and more procurement rules for government departments.
For small businesses to prosper, we need fewer rules and more incentives for businesses that operate in the township space and for innovators and entrepreneurs in our townships.
To ensure that our township businesses flourish we should declare our townships in Gauteng, especially the old townships that existed before 1994, as Township Special Economic Zones. We should incentivise businesses, especially those manufacturing businesses that invest in townships.
A bold bill would have been one that seeks to turn the townships into light industrial manufacturing and employment hubs rather than create even more rules.
The failure of township economic development is not the lack of a bill but rather a lack of imagination, leadership and political will. This bill should not be supported and existing legislation should rather be used to develop our townships’ economies so that they become thriving business hubs that will ensure a better life for our residents.
Gana is the DA shadow MEC for economic development in Gauteng
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