Honourable Speaker
Members of the National Assembly
MECs and Heads of Departments
Officials of the Department Trade and Industry (the dti) and Council of Trade and Industry Institutions (COTII)
Leaders of Organised Business and Labour
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
The budget vote takes place at a time when the African National Congress (ANC)-led government is consolidating its character as a democratic developmental state. The promulgation of a number of instruments, such as the New Growth Path, Industrial Policy Action Plan 2011/12-2013/14 (IPAP 2), the new Companies Act (with the strengthening of the Companies Commission), and the establishment of the Consumer Commission. These developments usher in an age where government is making strategic interventions in strategic sectors of the economy, to stimulate economic development and growth.
Honourable members, it is imperative to comprehend that policy instruments such as the New Growth Path are driven by the quest to ensure increased economic redistribution. The New Growth Path calls for extensive government support for social economy initiatives, which includes building of a stronger Cooperatives Support Agency and a possible establishment of a Cooperatives Training Academy. In responding to this call we are now in the process of finalising a process that will ensure the introduction of the Cooperatives Academy; the Cooperatives Tribunal and the Cooperatives Agency. This illustrates the coherent nature of the work of this government in responding to the needs of the people of South Africa.
These interventions are directed at ensuring that the country has an effective and efficient institutional mechanism to support the social economy initiatives, thus ensuring focused investment in social capital.
This year has been declared by the President of the Republic as the year of job creation. It is for this reason that we have deployed all tools available in the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) to deliver on job creation (or create job opportunities). In this regard, I want to emphasise the pivotal role and the potential of the small business sector in job creation and what we are doing to increase support to Small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and the cooperatives.
There is even a greater role for the cooperatives movement in job creation as these foster a sense of collective social enterprise. In addition, collective forms of ownership also build the necessary cohesion in society through building of production and ownership oriented community social networks.
For these reasons our investment towards the small business sector and the cooperatives needs to been seen and evaluated within a context of ensuring an inclusive economic paradigm that integrates the participation of marginalised groups in society such as women; the youth and people with disabilities into the mainstream economic activity. This gives effect to our resolve of ensuring economic redistribution.
Our view is that cooperatives are not just about the bottom line but also about strengthening ties of community social networks which are critical for building social capital. This is the reason we are seeking to professionalise training of cooperatives through the introduction of the Cooperative Academy so that we instil efficient collective production and ownership, as well as a sense collective community enterprise anchored on the values of democratic member’s participation in decision making. In fact, the New Growth Path identifies investment in social capital as one of the key job drivers for South Africa.
In order for us to respond to the call of the President on job creation and deliver on the New Growth Path we require deliberate and focused interventions to resuscitate primary sectors and leverage their labour absorptive capacity. Such interventions require intensive investment in rural road infrastructure, agricultural extension services, and irrigation systems along with building viable rural transport facilities. Our investment has been directed at these areas.
For instance, both the cooperatives we have launched in Limpopo (Tours Cooperative, Tzaneen) and in Mpumalanga (Insimi Yami Youth Cooperative, Schagen) illustrate our deliberate focus to leverage the labour absorptive capacity that lies in primary sectors. As such, the cooperatives we launched in these two provinces were both in the Agricultural Sector in line with the New Growth Paths prioritised efforts to support employment creation through the agricultural value chain.
Part of the tools we utilise to ensure that we build a viable small business sector is the Taking the dti to the people. This programme has allowed us to interface with small businesses and showcase to them the products that the dti has for them. Through this programme we go to communities where small businesses operate and engage them where they are. In this way we directly facilitate access to products that the dti has packaged through the different incentives for the small business sector.
To buttress our intent of making strategic intervention in women economic empowerment, as the dti, we have been utilising vehicles such as the South African Women Entrepreneurs' Network (SAWEN), Isivande Women's Fund, Bavumile and Technology for Women in Business (TWIB). Over and above these, we have also recognised women who use different forms of technology in their businesses through TWIB Awards. In addition to this, we are currently investing in building Technology capacity among young girls through the Technogirls Programme (in our midst we have young female learners from Ratshisase Secondary School from Limpopo).
The need to recognise these women technology pioneers, whilst nurturing the young ones through the Technogirls programme is borne out of the need to build innovative production and business methods. This will help the Nation in ensuring that ultimately we build viable value added industries. Without us adding value to our locally produced goods, we will not be able to create the required jobs, let alone transforming our economic structure away from its extractive nature.
Our development as a country remains locked in the decentralised economic activity with serious spatial challenges which have disarticulated the logic of shared economic activity and benefits. That is why we need to make technology investment now and what a better way to do that than to recognise women who are already at the forefront of innovative technology leadership.
The small business sector and the cooperatives movement have a responsibility to help us transform the social and economic engineering of apartheid. Through our currently programmes; the different incentives directed at supporting the small business sector; and the integrated nature of how we execute government business, we are surely on the right track.
Lastly, I would like to thank all our partners including the SAWEN Board members, Provincial Committees, TWIB and Technogirls Adjudicators, and my team in the Ministry.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
