Experts question Township Economic Development Bill

While the Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill was passed and celebrated this week, concerns were that no accompanying regulations appeared to be in place.

University of Johannesburg postdoctoral researcher and community psychologist Dr Melinda du Toit said
the country had a lot of good ideas concerning Bills and Acts, and SA’s constitution was regarded as the best in the world. However, the problem seemed to be implementation.

Du Toit said she was conscious about the fact that the department wanted to implement a regulatory
framework. But people with small informal businesses could struggle with meeting the implied regulations that would make them qualify for funding.

She said it was a worry that regulations were put in place without consulting the people they affected first. Du Toit said in South Africa there were many “survivalist entrepreneurs”, who were entrepreneurs merely to scrape by.

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Chair of the Committee for the Scrutiny of Subordinate Legislation Dulton Adams said the committee had advised the department that regulations to be drafted and finalised should be detailed, as it was important to avoid any ambiguity and confusion about which enterprises and organisations would be eligible to be funded.

“The department should consider the dire state of the township economy and the high levels of unemployment in townships,” Adams said.

“The department needs to eliminate elements of quick money-making schemes, which would derail the good intentions of the Bill, and to ensure that the vast majority of eligible people in townships benefit from the Bill.”

Du Toit said she was very skeptical about who would police the regulations and how.

“How can a Bill be passed if regulations are not stipulated?” she asked.

The Township Economic Development Bill sought to introduce an enabling structure to ensure that retail malls and township supermarkets partner with township-based enterprises, and that they source the products and services of local township-based producers, service providers and manufacturers.