Calls for assistance for SMEs

CALLS are being made for the government to provide “unconditional assistance” to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose businesses were at enormous risk because of persistent load shedding.

The devastating impact of load shedding on small businesses has been witnessed across the country, with little to no relief provided.

The small business sector was arguably the most severely hit by the rolling blackouts as most of these businesses were highly reliant on electricity for their operations and now required alternative power sources to operate.

This was shared in research by the national Department of Small Business Development.

Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said the department and its agencies were urgently working on an energy relief package for the small, medium, informal and micro sectors. The details were expected to be announced soon.

Inospace, which owned and operated serviced industrial and logistics parks with over 1500 SMEs in Cape Town and Johannesburg, called on the government to immediately provide “unconditional assistance” to SMEs whose businesses were at risk of being wiped out by load-shedding.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce was in favour of the government assisting the private sector, but believed the best way to do this was to deregulate the energy sector and allow private sector participation.

Chamber president Jacques Moolman said: “We are weary of a government-backed system of ‘unconditional assistance’ that may provide further opportunity for corruption.”