Z Mkhize: Ithala Women in Business Competition Awards dinner

30 August 2007

Programme Director
Chairperson of Ithala Board, Precious Lugayeni
Ithala's Board of Directors
Ithala's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sipho Nyembezi
President of the Durban Chamber of Commerce, Themba Ngcobo
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Durban Chamber, Professor Bonke
Dumisa
President of PMB Chamber, Zinhle Sokhela
Head of Department (HOD) of Treasury, Mr Sipho Shabalala
HOD of Economic Development, Mrs Carol Coetzee
Members of the media present
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Mr Bheki Sibiya, thank you for such an inspiring welcoming address. To Mr
Sipho Nyembezi, and the staff, I want to thank you for having us here today.
Frankly, the event you have put together is one I wish was being replicated by
all government departments and all companies and organisations in the province.
You have proved once again your determination to "make it happen".

My first words must be words of sorrow to those women who have not been able
to celebrate Women's month. Instead these women have to endure sustained abuse
in the hands of their trusted partners.

The everyday lives our women lead are a constant reminder of their
resilience, their intelligence, their ability to cope and their sense of
devotion to their families and their communities. It is hardly surprising that
South African women are and always have been the prime movers in the struggle
for political liberation. The 2000 women who marched to the Union Building on 9
August 1956 in defiance of the oppressive pass laws paved the way for this
freedom we are enjoying today.

Months and years after that march, various international organisations
echoed the voices of South African women who spoke out against the violence
perpetrated by the apartheid government. The international community begun to
acknowledge that the apartheid system was an obstacle to equality, development
and peace, as well as a serious violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms.

What lessons can we draw from women who marched to the Union Building? I
believe that the women of today can draw a lot of inspiration from these women
but this time around to fight for the economic liberation.

Today's event comes at the time when statistics paints a grim picture about
the state of women in the country.

This country has a female population which is larger than the male
population. According to Statistics South Africa's 2007 mid-year estimates,
South Africa's population is approximately 47,9 million, of whom approximately
24,3 million (51%) are female. South Africa's largest provincial population is
in KwaZulu-Natal, with 9,9 million people.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) has consistently recorded a higher
unemployment rate among women, compared to men. The most recent data, recorded
in the September 2006 LFS, reported an official unemployment rate of 21,2% for
men, compared to 30,7% among women.

The General Household Survey (GHS) for 2006 indicates that there are still
important gender differences in the percentage of people, age 20 years and
older, who have no formal education. A substantial proportion (10,7%) of this
group still has no formal qualifications. In 2006, 8,6% men had no formal
education. For women, 12,6% had no formal education.

Over the period 2002 to 2006, the percentage of children that went hungry
was substantially higher in female-headed households than in male-headed
households. For example, in 2006 in 3,4% of female-headed households, children
went hungry as against 1,6% in male-headed households.

Clearly these statistics require all of us to respond effectively to the
socio-economic challenges faced by women. The best way, of course, is to
inculcate entrepreneurial skills among the women.

This year we announced during the provincial budget presentation that our
top priority is to grow the economy and create new jobs. But that will not
happen without women and emerging small businesses. We are absolutely convinced
that the province's economic rise will be led by the entrepreneurial spirit of
small business owners.

The fact is small businesses have unlocked the door for countless women. So
you are not just helping to move our economy forward. You are an engine for job
creation. We believe in you, and we want to work with you to make sure your
businesses grow and prosper.

For me, we will realise this by listening to your concerns and learning what
we can do to help your businesses grow. It means focusing more attention on
training and levelling the playing field. Levelling the playing field should
start with government. This simple means that as government we need to make
sure that our procurement practices are fair, open and understandable.

We have a responsibility to make sure that our process for contracting with
women entrepreneurs is sustainable. We have therefore taken a position that all
government departments must spend more aggressively to drive women empowerment
programmes. The provincial government has a direct influence over 63 per cent
or R7,5 billion procurement budget.

One outright means of supporting the women population is to train them in
entrepreneurial skills and motivate them to start their own small enterprises.
In fact, the official South African Employment report released in April this
year estimates that there are only 600 000 formal businesses compared to the
estimated 2,1 million self-employed people in the country.

The present emphasis being laid by the government on the development of
Co-operatives and small, medium and micro enterprise (SMMEs) represents an
important avenue to empowering women through the initiation of their own
enterprises.

It is precisely in this context that economic development has come up with
different programmes which will help to boost the small enterprise sector and
provide increasing opportunities to women entrepreneurs.

Preferential procurement

For instance, on 14 August the department hosted Women in Business
Conference in Ugu District Municipality. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was
on top of the agenda. BEE has reached another level with the new codes of good
practice officially published in the Government Gazette.

One of the major driving forces behind BEE is the preferential procurement
section in the BEE scorecard rewards companies who buy from small, medium and
micro enterprises sector. SMMEs are responsible for an estimated 50% to 60% of
all new jobs created. In terms of the existing scorecard, companies are awarded
12 out of 20% if 70% of their procurement spend goes to suppliers who
contribute to BEE.

Economic department has also finalised the provincial government's BEE
strategy. In relation to women, the strategy will be implemented through seven
programmes. Some of the points in these programmes are:

* enforcement of the Employment Equity Act
* provision of enterprise development support
* skills development, mainly for the unemployed youth
* empowerment of target group enterprises (including black-engendered and
youth-owned enterprises) through preferential procurement
* empowerment of persons or groups or communities to increase their ownership
and control of enterprises and other productive assets such as land
* encouragement of well established firms to engage in corporate social
investment, particularly in the areas of socio-economic development and youth
learnership and apprenticeship.

The four cornerstones of the BEE Strategy are skills development,
preferential procurement, promotion and enabling ownership and control of
productive assets, and financing.

Various initiatives have also seen Ithala significantly broaden the BEE base
via access to finance and skills development. This includes the appointment of
22 employees across all 11 of the province's municipal districts in a bid to
"push" access and service delivery as far forward into the province's regions
as possible.

SMME development achievements between April and 30 June this year include,
total loan advances of R12,077,007 million with 46 enterprises being assisted.
Co-operative development achievements for the same period, include, total
approved funding of R7,084,859 million with 57 co-operatives being assisted in
all 11 of KwaZulu-Natal's municipal districts. These activities have resulted
in the creation of 697 jobs and 229 hector of agricultural land being
distributed over the past three months.

In striving to promote entrepreneurship and facilitate successful
transformation, skills development remains a key focus. In partnership with the
Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), SMME skills training programmes are
assisting newly-emerging entrepreneurs with the provision of easily accessible
training. In this regard, 211 emerging entrepreneurs have been assisted over
the past three months across various provincial regions.

Ithala supports government to deliver infrastructure in areas of health and
education, the focus in terms of service by Ithala is project management and
expanded public works support through emerging entrepreneur development.
Through this programme Ithala awarded contracts to the value of R35,2 million
to emerging entrepreneurs over the past four months. Further to this, contracts
have been awarded under Ithala's internal BEE procurement policy to priority
population groups (PPGs) amounting to R17,8 million.

Ithala advanced R68 million in home loans, with 215 home owners being
assisted. In addition, 33 735 new savings accounts were opened and savings
deposits increased from R1,372 billion to R1,432 billion.

Training for women

There is an urgent need for the empowerment of women-owned co-operatives and
SMMEs. We are accordingly opening one stop shops in various districts with an
aim of providing information on variety of subjects such as:

* establishing co-operatives and SMMEs etc
* businesses and tax registration
* business networking
* marketing
* business and financial management
* access to finance
* 2010 business opportunities;
* becoming a successful exhibitor
* business and entrepreneurial skills
* tendering and pricing.

Most importantly, one stop shops will provide women with leadership and
entrepreneurial skills which are necessary to make their businesses successful.
Statistics indicate that one of the most important causes of failure at the
level of SMMEs and co-ops has been the lack of entrepreneurial skills. I am
confident that these centres will give the necessary boost to the potential
entrepreneurs to develop successful business practices.

In fact under this government there are numerous incentive schemes and
non-financial support services run by the various agencies that can be accessed
by SMMEs and also big business. Amongst these are:

* South African Micro-finance Apex Fund (Samaf), Apex Fund
* Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)
* National Empowerment Fund (NEF)
* Khula
* Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda).

South African Women Entrepreneurs' Network (Sawen)

Government's commitment to the broadening of women's participation in the
economy of the country is further demonstrated by the establishment of the
South African Women Entrepreneurs' Network (Sawen). This organisation provides
a platform for women entrepreneurs to engage themselves in debates and
discussions on how to ensure women's economic emancipation.

This financial year, the national Department of Trade and Industry plan to
review the status of Sawen. This will include embarking on a process of
ensuring that Sawen becomes one of the dti-listed entities. The dti recognises
the important role that Sawen plays as a broker between dti delivery agencies
and women entrepreneurs. The review will look at the role that Sawen plays and
how it can be enhanced to strengthen the participation of women in the
economy.

Conclusion

We should all realise that we are living in a globally competitive world
where no one owes us a living. It is therefore necessary for us to equip
ourselves with the right tools, both physical and mental, in order to face the
growing challenges.

It is true that the KwaZulu-Natal economy is growing at an unprecedented
level. To sustain this growth it is necessary for all of us to cluster our
efforts in building a modern province which can be internationally
competitive.

Employment creation has begun to strengthen, with about half a million jobs
created annually in the country, and with our province accounting for a
substantial percentage of these jobs. Already, in terms of contribution to the
national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the province is second only to
Gauteng.

In conclusion I feel it is important to constantly remind ourselves about
the role of the entrepreneur. Mr Reiss a successful entrepreneur and author of
the book Starting and Growing Your Small Business With Minimal Risk, says:

"Entrepreneurship is the recognition and pursuit of opportunity without
regard to the resources you currently control, with confidence that you can
succeed, with the flexibility to change course as necessary, and with the will
to rebound from setbacks."

Ladies and gentlemen, this government is pushing for the culture of
entrepreneurship. Ithala's Women in Business Competition will allow the
finalists and all participants to find out their hidden entrepreneurial talents
and improve upon that so that such talents can be put to more productive
use.

I want to acknowledge and thank all judges who participated in this
competition. When women-owned businesses succeed all of us in KwaZulu-Natal
will succeed. When they fail, all of us will fail.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Finance and Economic Development, KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Government
30 August 2007