The Department of Small Business Development and its entities appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development today to brief the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development on their 2017/18 Quarter One and Quarter Two Performance Reports today at Parliament.
The reports reflected progress which the department has made on the implementation of performance indicators and targets set in respect of the Annual Performance Plan.
The Acting Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Xitlhangoma Mabasa, told the Department’s Director-General, Ms Edith Vries, who made the presentation that the department has done well in the first two quarters of the 2017/18 financial year.
“During Quarter 1 the department trained 22 against the target of 35 cooperatives, however in Quarter 2 the department recovered that shortfall and trained 178 cooperatives against a target of 90 in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng. Four incubators have been approved through the Enterprises Incubation Programme Adjudication Committee and the department leveraged an investment worth R30m through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) to fund micro and informal businesses,” Said Ms Edith Vries.
According to the report, he Committee expressed its happiness with the manner in which the department complied with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), No 1 of 1999, Treasury Regulations and the National Treasury Framework for Annual Performance Reporting.
Mr Roger Chance, a member of the Portfolio Committee, told Ms Vries that the department is measured on what impact and difference it makes in terms of the purpose for which it exists. Mr Chance also said as a member of the Committee he was concerned about its failure to meet some of its targets in the past.
“My concern is on expenditure, it is important that the department meets its expenditure targets and we have been critical with the department for not doing so in the past, I think everyone is looking to see what impact is the Department is making on the broader economy of the country,” said Mr Chance.
Ms Vries said the department has initiated a plan of corrective action to manage the areas of under-performance through revised guidelines and standard operating procedures and an online application to improve turnaround times in assessing and processing applications.
By Sam Khetheng
8 November 2017
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