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Making it easier to do business in SA

25 February 2011

The government plans to make it easier to do business in South Africa by setting up a national one-stop shop for investment approvals, reforming black economic empowerment (BEE) codes, and simplifying the red tape required of small businesses.

Briefing journalists in Parliament in Cape Town on Thursday, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said that reducing red tape for small business owners meant reducing the number forms that had to be filled in, and speeding up the time it took for government agencies to process documents.

It also meant ceating a more co-ordinated system, and setting up one-stop shops, so that business owners were not sent from one place to another just to get the same thing.

Trade and Investment South Africa

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, said that setting up a national one-stop agency for investment approvals would involve bolstering the capacity of Trade and Investment South Africa, which falls under the Department of Trade and Industry and already helps facilitate international investments in the country.

Davies said the campaign to minimise red tape for small businesses would include the roll-out of an initiative to help municipalities cut regulations affecting small enterprises, following the conclusion of a pilot project in a number of municipalities.

Added to this, he said, the new Companies Act, due to come into effect on 1 April, would see less onerous regulations for small companies in South Africa.

Consumer Protection Act

The Consumer Protection Act, due to come into effect on the same date, would also help to stimulate the economy.

Davies cited the example of building regulations, saying that many contractors failed to fit lights and plugs that met the compulsory specifications for electrical installations in new buildings. Under the Consumer Protection Act, homeowners would have recourse, meaning more work for contractors, which he believed would benefit the economy.

"Now what will happen is that everyone who is involved in the process – the retailer, the housing contractor – will no longer be able to say, "I didn't know about that, that's what I was given by the shop". They will now have responsibility for that.

"And we think that is the kind of effective regulation that will protect our consumers against unsafe products and our industries against unfair competition from low-quality products," Davies said.

Reform of BEE codes

Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, said reform of the BEE codes would contribute to job creation by incentivising local procurement, entrepreneurship and broad-based ownership.

Other initiatives outlined by Nkwinti, who chairs the government's cluster on economic sectors and employment, included the establishment of a Companies and Property Intellectual Commission, to take over from the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro).

The powers of the Competition Commission and Tribunal would also be strengthened through an amendment of the Competition Act aimed at criminalising cartel involvement.

Source: BuaNews