The DA welcomes the decision by the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development (PCSBD) to support the DA’s call for the establishment of a Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee to oversee the recently established red tape reduction team in the Presidency, led by Sipho Nkosi.
I will be writing to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, detailing the PCSBD’s support and the reasons why the ad-hoc committee is necessary.
The PCSBD’s support for the ad-hoc committee comes after I first made the proposition in my budget speech on 4 May 2022. The committee agreed that such a step is indeed needed, emphasising that, in order “to support the President’s aspirations to eliminate red tape, the Committee calls for the creation of a Parliamentary Ad hoc Committee or a Structure that will interface with the DPME Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) unit which it is widely understood that it will be working with Mr Nkosi.”
It is now 120 days since the President first announced the setting up of a unit to reduce red tape created by years of failed ANC policies. There is still no clarity, if any, on the work that the unit has done to date. Instead, what has become clear during this period is that the ANC has opted to double down on its intention to pursue policies that bind the business sector and inhibit economic activity.
The DA has long called for the removal of red tape to enable investment and growth in the business sector.
We introduced two Private Members’ Bills in this regard, but they were both rejected by the ANC through its parliamentary majority.
The DA will continue to fight proactively to free the business sector from the clutches of the ANC’s job-killing policies. If the economy is to grow and create jobs, it is essential that urgent steps are taken to improve the ease of doing business in South Africa.