Department of Small Business Development

Presentation on Work of

Task Team on Violent Incidents Associated with Local- and Foreign-

owned Informal and Small Businesses

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs

•Background

•Task Team

•Emergent Strategy

•National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS)

•Key Contributions to Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration

•Conclusion

•South Africans have co-habited peacefully with émigré populations since the pre-1994 era.

•Since the advent of democracy South Africa has been experiencing an increase in the number of émigré populations who have moved to the country for various reasons (e. g. asylum seekers, economic and political refugees, and undocumented persons). •2008: As part of the citizens’ response to the presence of émigré populations in receiving countries, South Africa experienced a series of violent incidents in parts of the country (particularly Gauteng and Western Cape).

•The causal reasons for violence are economic (diminishing economic resources globally), but these are expressed differently (detailed under “Emergent Strategy” hereinbelow).

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• The 2008 violence resulted in 62 people reported to have been killed, 670 injured, and 100 000 internally relocated. While 1 400 suspects were arrested and 137 people were convicted in connection with the violence.

• Multiple reports were written on the 2008 violent incidents: For example, on 13 May 2008, Parliament appointed a Task Team of Members of Parliament Probing Violent Attacks on Foreign Nationals on 13th May and its findings were presented to Parliament on 19 June 2008.

• Task Team noted correlation between violent attacks against foreigners and poverty and indigence.

• An Inter-Ministerial Task Force was appointed to: monitor affected areas; and remain in constant communication with these.

• Lack of follow-through on 2008 reports’ recommendations (SAHRC, etc.).

Task Team on Violent Incidents Associated with Local- and Foreign-owned Informal and Small Businesses was founded by Minister of Small Business Development on 26 January 2015 following the death of 14-years’ old Siphiwe Mahori on 19 January 2015, in Doornkop, Soweto.

Task Team was founded as an inter-departmental and inter-spherical government-wide structure with the brief to:

1.Undertake a comprehensive assessment of previously-reported causes (and recurrence) of violence, and the extent to which these reports’ recommendations were carried out; and

2.Facilitate inter- and extra-governmental consultations targeted at generating sustainable short- and long-term economic proposals and interventions from which informal and small business activities may be conducted in a cohesion-promoting environment.

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•Terms of Reference developed.

•Attended by nine (9) State Departments or Organs:

ofive national departments (DSBD, EDD, DTI, CoGTA, DHA);oone national agency (SEDA);oone provincial department (Economic Development – Gauteng);oGauteng SAPS; andoCity of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality.

•Four Working Groups: Policy, Regulation and Enforcement; Enterprise Development and Support; Stakeholder Relations; and Communication and Education. •Other invited Departments neither responded to Minister’s invitation, nor sent duly appointed senior officials to Task Team.•Premiers and MEC’s have similarly overlooked Minister’s invitation of 13 March 2015.

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Reported Root Causes Emerging Responses

Competition over business resources Enterprise Development and Support through National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS), Township Economies Revitalisation, etc.: Each province is expected to develop a strategy/programme on informal business support and township economies.

Failure to regulate informal and small businesses at local government level

Municipalities profile, review and align by-laws towards meeting emerging economic realities and objects (e. g. the relationship between business zoning and economic development).

Absence of government-wide cooperation and coordination on initiatives related to informal and small businesses

Central coordination of ongoing community level campaigns targeted at informal and small business activities (e. g. DSBD, SARS, DHA, CoGTA, DoL, Municipality, etc.), and provinces establishing provincial-level task teams.

Rivalry over employment opportunities Employment of community members by foreign-owned informal businesses; development and delivery of grounded entrepreneurship programmes; and development and funding of local-foreign ownership of business value chains (bulk buying).

Community disengagement and the advent of social ills

Strengthening of civic movements and community-based organisations and creation of broad-based and representative informal and small business formations at community level (CoGTA, SALGA, DSD, etc.).

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• Creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment(e. g. business licensing; comprehensive review and alignment of municipal by-laws; policing of trade in illicit goods; and protection of Intellectual Property)

• Enterprise Development through financial and non-financial support (e. g. skills development; infrastructure support; access to markets)

• Strengthening of Inter-Governmental Relations Coordination (inter-spherical coordination of informal sector development resources and instruments)

• Stakeholder and Partnership Development(e. g. active participation of private sector, business associations, and civil society; and providing chamber support to the informal sector)

• Information and knowledge management towards the development of informal business intelligence (e. g. research; communication; database development; product development)

Intervention 1: Policy, Regulation and Enforcement: This intervention is targeted at:•ensuring that informal businesses comply with legal provisions that are relevant to all businesses; •developing an informal business registry; and •instituting mechanisms through which business intelligence on the informal retail sector can be collected, analysed and translated into policy.

 Intervention 2: Enterprise Development and Support: This intervention is targeted at:•consolidating, stimulating and targeting existing support towards skilling and financing entrepreneurs.  Intervention 3: Communication and Education: This intervention is targeted at:• creating a singular communication platform on issues of informal businesses and the accompanying violence; and• informing the public of the various government initiatives relating to the development of informal businesses.  Intervention 4: Stakeholder Relations: This intervention is targeted at:•profiling the relevant role-players in the informal traders’ sector as well as employing these to the benefit of the informal sector; and•initiating processes of developing an informal businesses’ registry.

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THANK YOU!

Lindiwe Zulu (MP)Minister of Small Business Development

Task Team Chairperson: Motsoakgomo I Papi Nkoli

+27-(0)79-523-5501

mnkoli@dsbd.gov.za

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