Save your social grant for 837 years and start a business!

8 000 plus words in the SONA2022 speech and the word “family” appears only once. All credit to the man who saved his R350 grant for nine months to start a fast food stall so he could support his family.

You can’t fault the logic. Let’s do the numbers.

Let’s do the numbers

Based on our President’s thinking it would take the recipient of the Social Relief of Distress Grant (social grant) 1 674 years to save up the cash required to open a fast food outlet under the banner of one of our more famous Portuguese flame grilled chicken franchises.

I may be too harsh.

If we could get a grant from the government equal to 50% of the investment required to acquire the franchise, the time required to save your social grant would drop to 837 years. A definite improvement.

So don’t eat, save your R350 and you too can get a mention in SONA2859.

Who’s red tape is it?

Talking about being in touch with the people you represent. I’m encouraged by the focus upon reducing the regulatory burden on informal businesses.

“We are therefore working to improve the business environment for companies of all sizes through a dedicated capacity in the Presidency to reduce red tape.”

A question for the “red tape team”. What planet do you live on?

Since when do families starving at the bottom of the pyramid care about your red tape?

If a choice is to be made between saving your social grant, queuing for a licence to support your family, or starting a business – I think starting a business first and worrying about your rules later will win the vote.

Focus on the family

To the head of the red tape cutting team, time to reconnect with what it means to be Black and African. We are a communal people and the family lies at the heart of that community.

The secularisation of the SME space into non-family-business-SMEs and family-business-SMEs serves no purpose. Here in Africa all SMEs have a family connection. It is time to leverage the power of the Black African Family. If you wish to 

“… unleash the potential of small businesses, micro businesses and informal businesses.”

I suggest you design your policies and programmes to include the untapped power of the Black African Family. This requires that you recognise the complexity of the family component in the business family space, empower Black African Families families with the knowledge to manage the challenges that come with family ownership of a business, while focusing upon the advantages that only accrue to family-owned businesses.

Red tape is not the issue. 

Driving and supporting entrepreneurship in the Black African Family is where you must start.

No red tape required.