Enough time has passed, we believe, for the new government to provide a clear policy picture in relation to the level of support that the local small business community can anticipate in terms of initiatives that can help strengthen the sector if just because of counting. of the job creation and significant poverty alleviation pressures it has.
One makes this point aware that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the small business sector in a way that forces the closure of many of the various large and small enterprises in areas such as agriculture, agro-processing and retail. These closures have resulted from reduced demand for some of the goods and services they provide as well as pandemic restrictions that either restrict or prohibit them from seeking trade.
The reality is (and we have said it before) outside of the very limited initiative that saw a relatively small number of small businesses associated with the Office of Small Business (SBB) receiving a modest level of financial support from the Bureau (whether what they received probably could have ensured the survival of some of their enterprises over the last few months) there is no truly meaningful provision in place to help spot small businesses in the agriculture, agro-processing and sales trades. this period. So, the sad reality is that some of these businesses have either completely folded or significantly reduced. We may not have the numbers but we are aware that these circumstances have led to job losses (which, in many cases, may be permanent losses) and consequent loss of personal and family income. The consequential consequences of such situations are hardly necessary.
The reality of the situation, of course, is that there was nothing that anyone could have done to stop the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences of it nonetheless, bearing in mind what we knew on the some of the likely consequences for small businesses would be a start, there seemed to be no tendency to go beyond what was being offered to a limited number of small businesses through the Small Business Bureau vehicle.
It must of course be noted that far greater numbers of small businesses than those registered under the Bureau exist in the various sectors, including significant numbers in our rural and hinterland regions and, moreover, that these provides important services to their respective communities. Accordingly, in circumstances such as those currently facing us, remedial measures must also be considered.
In the cases of significant numbers of small businesses in areas such as small farming, agro, production and sale of crafts, the nature of the Covid-19 crisis has meant that serious restrictions have slowed their ability to seriously incentivize their respective trades. These restrictions have resulted from a careful awareness on the part of business owners to the dangers of exposure as well as the requirement to comply with official restrictions relating to the spread of the virus. Contextually, it should be noted that public gatherings which manifest themselves in Street Fairs and Farmers’ Markets (which help to promote sponsorship of most categories of small business) are largely set aside pandemic.
We raise again not only the absence of any significant state-driven initiative to respond to these specific types of challenges that have affected small businesses, but also what we believe to be the apathy of, and, in our view, our Business Support Organizations (we believe). BSO’s) to the challenges facing the ‘smaller’ business enterprises in the country. Sometimes one gets the impression that entities like the Private Sector Commission (PSC) exist for the convenience of a covered circle of entrepreneurial ventures only and that those who are not part of the elite group must that only fight their own corner. In particular, we have commented on what sometimes seems to be the single mindedness of the PSC with issues relating to the Local Content considerations that do not exist in the oil and gas industry to the exclusion of everything else; and while we are in no way indifferent to the benefits that can accrue to the economy as a whole from maximizing the opportunities that Local Content can bring, we do not believe that this approach should be allowed to create a self-image. -centricity that leaves a legitimate part of the business community behind.
There are options for those who seem to be having it right now, and it is the government and our BSOs who have to lead the way. The pursuit of those options must begin with a general recognition that those provisions that exist for small business support locally are generally not sufficient to do much more than secure their status. support and if they want to grow, become growth producers, raise employment levels and play their part in alleviating poverty, those contributions will have a knock on effect on our state of being. That is not, in our view, what it is at present.
Here we believe that government and BSO’S must share the responsibility for giving small businesses a real seat at the decision-making table. We cannot expect to be excused a trumpet for the role that small and small businesses must play in the development of the country if we do not do more to position them properly to succeed. This is the point where government and mainstream private sector Business Support Organizations must act.