Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams promised that the government would restrict foreign nationals from running businesses illegally.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers
Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has vowed that the government will apply strict measures to make sure the township and rural economy benefit South Africans and not illegal foreign nationals.
The tuckshops, hair salons, and building material trading stores, which are currently the backbone of the township and rural economy, are mostly run by foreign nationals from Asia and northern Africa who are believed to be in the country illegally or not for business purposes.
Addressing thousands of members of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc), Ndabeni-Abrahams said the government had no intention to promote xenophobia by protecting South Africans from foreigners arriving in the country to take over small businesses.
She was the keynote speaker at the closing of the three-day celebration of the Nafcoc 60th anniversary at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre on Friday.
She was representing President Cyril Ramaphosa, who, because of other engagements, could not attend.
“Most people who want to change what we do to protect South Africans portray South Africa (government) as being xenophobic when they begin to fight to keep hair salons and all the small scale industry.
“I say to those people who are raising that South Africans are venturing to be xenophobic, if we are xenophobic, we would never go to a non-South African-owned business to do your hair and buying from them,” she said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said South Africans were people who like to co-exist with foreign nationals.
She said the government had developed a new business licensing policy, which would protect South African small business operators while making it easier and cheaper for them to start a business.
“We are in the process of repealing the Business Act and introducing the Business Licensing Amendment Bill, which is in line with the business licensing regime to make it easier and less costly to start a business because the price of starting a business is too costly.
“We (government) are unapologetic and we are clear on what are going to do with the business licensing policy when we accommodate non-South Africans,” she said.
She said the strict measures would be emphatic on the illegal immigrants “because we would never do that in their countries.”
“We would never undermine the Constitution of their countries,” she said.
She advised lawful foreigners to stay in the country for the purposes for which they applied and not conduct business for which they did not apply.
“If you are here to study, there is no business in doing business; if you are here to work, you focus on that (work), and once you venture into other things, you go back and apply and we make an assessment and if you qualify according to our laws.”
She also said the government was finalising the Township and Rural Economy Development and Revitalisation Policy, which would help to transform rural and township areas into business hubs.
“What we see in our townships and villages is that our local people are excluded in the economy no matter how smart and beautiful their ideas are.
“In the policy, we are applying a clear proposal to create business hubs, to create these historically dormant places into vibrant economies where small business can grow,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.
However, she exonerated tuckshops from allegations that they were behind the deaths of many school children through food poisoning.
She said the government had set aside R500 million to address the issue of food poisoning, adding that the fund would be unpacked by Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau “on the 8th (of April)”.
“The Minister of Health explained that it was not because it was sold from the tuckshops but it was because whoever was packaging the food, they found some virus,” said Ndabeni Abrahams.
She said the government could not succumb to pressure to shut down tuckshops in response to the food poisoning as this would have complicated the lives of ordinary citizens.
During his address, Nafcoc President Gilbert Mosena called on the government to protect Ithala Bank from being shut down, rebuild VBS Mutual Bank, and return the African Bank back to black businesses.
Mosena said the chamber played a vital role in the fight against apartheid, which he said, it was established for.
He said the chamber was playing a major role in driving economic transformation.
“This organisation was established with a liberation purpose and that of serving as an economic pillar of our new South Africa,” he said.
He said it was concerning that black people were still lagging behind their white counterparts when it came to the economy.
Mosena said that in 2017, there were 70 000 black people who had access to economic opportunities as compared to 1.3 million white people.
“There is no reason why a democratic government cannot intervene to equalise various groups.
“These figures are not just statistics; they represent a painful reality of systematic economic exclusion that continues to marginalise our black communities,” he said.
bongani.hans@inl.co.za
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