Major financial injection to go into KZN small businesses

Cooperatives and small business enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal are set to receive a major financial boost thanks to a whopping R57 million that the provincial department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs (EDTEA) has set aside for the sector.

Addressing delegates during a summit on entrepreneurship organised by the Durban University of Technology today, KZN EDTEA MEC Sihle Zikalala said his department had set aside R57 million for the implementation of the Radical Agrarian Socio-Economic Transformation (RASET) programme, which sought to improve the participation by small-scale farmers in the lucrative food-production value chain.

He said RASET is an economic transformation programme by the government of KwaZulu-Natal. It strives to solve the socioeconomic problem of rural and township communities in particular by empowering them to create their own wealth in order to provide jobs, eradicate poverty and redress economic imbalances, he added.

Zikalala added: “We have set aside an amount of R57 million in the 2017/2018 financial year for RASET. We have also forged a partnership with the SPAR supermarket group where SPAR will provide technical and back office support for rural shops which also serve as pension and social grant pay points. Our District Development Agencies have also been allocated a revolving facility which will enable them to pay farmers who bring them produce for the RASET programme. Details of how our emerging farmers are going to benefit from this funding will be unveiled during our budget speech in the next few weeks.”

Zikalala said the department was also negotiating with all TVET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal to provide to SMMEs and cooperatives with training in areas such as business management and cooperative governance.

“During the current financial year, the department’s target is to have 1166 small enterprises benefiting from this partnership agreement. We are also negotiating with KZN Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) to provide mentorship support programme to these SMMEEs and we are optimistic that the agreements will be reached soon,” Zikalala said.

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