Parliament, Thursday, 30 March 2023 – Small and medium-size business entrepreneurs in the North West Province who received financial support from government agencies are struggling to pay back the loans.
The Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development is this week conducting oversight visits to small businesses in North West who received support from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and the Small Enterprise Funding Agency (SEFA).
One beneficiary who runs a bakery in Itsoseng township in Lichtenburg in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality told the committee that he has not started servicing the R300 000 SEFA loan because his business is not yet making enough profit to do so. The business does not operate at its full potential as he lacks the transport he needs to deliver his products to market. Meanwhile, a vegetable farmer, egg producer and meat distributor beneficiary said he is paying less than the required monthly repayment fee because his business is also struggling to make a profit.
The committee emphasised the importance of post-investment support from the relevant government agencies for the beneficiaries of the government’s small development programmes.
Committee Chairperson Ms Violet Siwela said: “We want these small businesses to grow in order to contribute to the fight against unemployment and poverty in our country. We cannot establish them and let them fail. We need to baby-sit them. We cannot be happy with a business when there is no profit.”
The committee was unhappy with how these agencies, particularly SEFA, are treating small enterprises, spaza shop owners, informal traders and cooperatives. It therefore resolved to summon the department, SEDA and SEFA to come to Parliament to provide clarity on their programmes and funding models, particularly the wholesale finance and Khula Credit Guarantee programmes. The committee also wants these agencies to be more visible to the communities, especially in rural areas.
Today the committee will continue with oversight visits in the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, MS VIOLET SIWELA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the committee Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Sakhile Mokoena
Cell: 081 705 2130
Email: smokoena@parliament.gov.za
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