The Chartered Institute for Business Accountants (Ciba), the body for finance professionals including accountants, has created a crowdfunding platform to help integrate rural areas into the mainstream economy.
The institute aims to get a million people to donate at least R100 a month in partnership with the Royal Leaders of South Africa (Rolesa), with the aim of improving rural communities’ quality of life.
Ciba CEO Nicolaas van Wyk told Business Times the initiative was aimed at the 18-million rural residents who did not participate meaningfully in the economy.
“Economic activity is small in rural areas,” he said. “We believe that if we can increase the contribution tenfold, we can add significant percentages to South Africa’s GDP. GDP is growing at 1% a year, and our population growth is higher than that.”
He added that if a million middle-class employed people donated a minimum of R100 a month each, there would be R100m a month for rural economies. Research could then identify potential growth prospects that would help create jobs.
Ciba and Rolesa are rolling out what they call the Royal Customary Charter to be adopted by businesses in rural areas to demonstrate their commitment to traditional values.
What we want to do as royal leaders is emancipate our people economically so they can participate in the economy
— Kgosi Selabe Masibi, Rolesa chair
Van Wyk said that while under company law businesses were required to register their companies with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and with the South African Revenue Service (Sars), there was no platform through which they could get symbolic authority or permission from the royal families of South Africa to operate in their jurisdictions.
“They could print the seal on their products to showcase how they align with traditional communities. This is particularly pertinent because there has been large-scale unhappiness with spaza shops and a lot of foreigners working in rural areas.
“We want to make sure that every business that is working in a village is showing support in the village.”
Van Wyk said the royal charter was a “seal” which had been launched to allow companies to showcase how they supported traditional values. Businesses would apply to use the seal, which would be issued on the condition they proved compliance with South African company laws and Sars. The businesses would have to be tax compliant and show a commitment to rural development and traditional values.
“We want to ensure that every business operating in rural areas is not an extractive industry. In other words, whether you are a big retailer or a small spaza shop, you will have to show people how you are investing money back into the community and that you have the blessing of the royal charter.”
He said businesses that applied for the royal charter would be assessed by qualified accountants at Ciba to ensure there was “cultural alignment”.
Rolesa chair Kgosi Selabe Masibi said: “What we want to do as royal leaders is emancipate our people economically so they can participate in the economy.”
He said the royal charter would operate similarly to the Muslim Judicial Council, which was established to ensure that the halaal certification process was up to standard.
Masibi added that South African red tape was stifling rural development, leading to migration to urban areas, and census figures showed the population in his village had declined as people relocated to cities.
“Our villages are being turned into graveyards.”
Business Times
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