Kaya 959 Reporter
The medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) and new finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s maiden budget will be delivered today.
Small businesses are hoping to get clarity about initiatives to support them.
Small businesses play a pivotal role in the growth of the economy, and they too took a hit from the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
The government’s revenue collection went better than many people expected thanks to solid performance from mines and banks. The country is waiting in anticipation to hear the direction Godongwana will take with his medium-term budget policy statement.
Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are hoping he will announce a new stimulus package.
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Kaya Biz recently had a conversation with Shuan Theunissen, Founder of Property Point (Business Incubator) & The President of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce.
Theunissen, shared that it is going to be interesting to hear what the minister will say in terms of supporting small businesses, considering the many things that have destabilised resilient small business owners, such as the COVID pandemic, lockdowns as well as looting.
“It’s been quite heartwarming for us, being able to see the resilience that we are know for as South Africans.”
“We’ve seen small business that have had a knock on effect from COVID, that have been resilient and have been able to sustain jobs, one of the key thing we are looking at in terms of success factors, is the ability for businesses to sustain jobs out there, and the positive stories are there.”
“We’ve seen township based businesses rebuilding from the ground up, and really growing out there.”
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Earlier this month, President Ramaphosa announced the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan which they say lacks necessary detail in terms of initiatives to support SMEs.
Other items on the wish list include the provision of finance and technical assistance to SMEs.
On the topic of infrastructure spend and roll-out plans, there is a need for purposeful initiatives to subcontract to SMEs.
Since his August 5 appointment, the former labour unionist and head of economic transformation in the ANC has pledged policy continuity.
He’s expected to stick to predecessor Tito Mboweni’s fiscal consolidation plans and focus on “growth-stimulatory measures, with a move away from accelerating current expenditure,” according to Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec.
