If you’re wondering what President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Red Tape Reduction task force did after the president announced it during his State of the Nation address last year, the short answer is: not much.
According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), the Red Tape Reduction task team at the Presidency met with the Small Business Development Committee on November 16 to brief them on their progress.
The goal of the task team is to make real progress to reduce the overly complex rules, regulations, procedures, and processes that hinder economic growth and job creation in key areas of the economy, and work with relevant role players across governments, the private sector and organizations community based.
Sipho Nkosi, head of the task team, said in the presentation that the team currently does not have a permanent structure and needs administrative capacity, with the President playing the role of central supervision and coordination, while the implementation is done directly through several government departments and agencies, including. department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) and small business development (DSBD).
PMG said in a report at the meeting that the task team identified almost 100 potential red tape problems and initially focused on three highly important areas that they could potentially show improvement in the coming months.
The priority areas are tourism travel permits, the mining license system and prospecting rights, and work permits and visa administration, Nkosi said.
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Tourism travel permit red tape
“Tourism travel permits are a long-standing issue for an important industry, affecting both established and emerging operators. Progress has been made recently following engagement between the transport department and industry, with the support of the minister.
The department has made progress in reducing licensing delays, but the existing process remains complex, with additional requirements not included in the regulations.
Nkosi said the minister remains involved in the process, but tour operators cannot offer visitors tours that include transport.
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Mining licenses and prospects
On the mining licensing system and prospecting rights, Nkosi said the growth of the mining industry was hampered by the lack of a modern system to manage mining licenses and prospects, with the process of license procurement being delayed in part due to differences between them. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and the department of mineral resources and energy (DMRE).
The task team plans to meet with the DMRE to discuss how the RTR process can help.
Also Read: Government committed to clearing mining, prospecting and mineral rights arrears – Ramaphosa
Work permits and visas
Regarding work permits and visa administration, Nkosi said the inability to process work permits quickly has a negative impact on the ability of international companies to operate in South Africa and attract critical skills.
He said the report was prepared by Operation Vulindlela, under the leadership of former director general of the department of home affairs (DHA), Mavuso Msimang. It is with Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and a detailed briefing is scheduled to plan the way forward.
“The RTR program will support the implementation of recommendations, which will be based on engagement with DHA on the work program.”
Nkosi said other areas of interest include informal trading permits and licenses and early childhood development (ECD) regulations.
This is similar in view and a letter was sent to the premiers of each province to participate and encourage the establishment of a red tape-red unit in the province to create a dedicated capacity in each province that will be part of the overall architecture to tackle RTR more systemic.
The task team met with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) on areas of focus and priorities and explained that the RTR program is largely focused on economic blockages, including those affecting small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) and larger businesses.
A second consultative reference group meeting is scheduled for November 17, including representatives from DTIC, DSBD and business organizations such as BUSA and the Black Business Council (BBC).
Questions from the committee
The Committee would like to know if the task force uses assessment tools to determine the impact of red tape.
He also asked whether the task force considered the involvement of small businesses in the energy crisis, making e-hailing permits easier for transport providers, and reducing labor law restrictions.
Another question from the committee is what is being done about the inefficiency of import and export of goods through the port due to red tape.
Committee members also stressed that officials should be responsible for paying invoices within 30 days, saying that access and absorption of funds available to small businesses should be improved.
Answers from the task team
Nkosi said in response to comments from committee members that the task force was working through red tape and had a list of issues to focus on as resources became more available, including the use of assessment tools, payments. of invoices, and labor laws.
He also said that the team is currently underpowered, but they are negotiating to see what they can do with their limited power.
Regarding small businesses, he said that access to finance is always a big problem for African youth and those who want to start small businesses, which must be addressed as a country. The task force is doing research on this, although not much work has been done on small businesses and red tape.
Anthony Costa, head of investment at the Office of the Presidency, said there was a great demand to participate and submit questions to the task team, but part of the challenge was that with the current structure, the team could not meet with individuals. questions from residents, consumers, or small business owners.
“There is no capacity or mandate to do it and the team is more about systemic issues. First team members need to understand the engagement structure.
He added that the task force is aware of the ease of doing business and has been cooperating with DTIC in this regard.
“The ease of doing business has been reshaped in terms of separate work on improving the business environment.”