Government 'will remain committed to R100bn Transformation Fund'

Small business development minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has encouraged women to participate in the public comment process for the government's R100bnTransformation Fund aimed at helping small businesses access funds and markets.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Women's Dialogue and Stakeholder Luncheon in Paris, Ndabeni-Abrahams called on women to share their opinions of the fund despite criticism in some quarters that the concept was flawed.

“There are people hell-bent on undermining this transformational agenda that we want to drive. There are people already who are committed that they will take that process to court,” said Ndabeni-Abrahams.

She said the government would stand by the fund despite opposition from some quarters, including major business organisations.

“Yes, we are a government that promotes nonracism, but we are a country with a particular history that is not going to be washed away. We are standing by our constitution in terms of addressing past imbalances,” said Ndabeni-Abrahams. 

The Transformation Fund was proposed by the department of trade, industry & competition. It aims to raise R20bn over the next five years and disburse R100bn, using a mix of contributions from enterprise and supplier development (ESD) obligations under B-BBEE codes of good practice and voluntary donations by big corporations.

After anger that the fund would impose new obligations for corporations, trade industry & competition minister Parks Tau allayed fears, saying it would not replace existing ESD programmes and contributions would be voluntary. 

Ndabeni-Abrahams said the government was pushing its plan to allocate 40% of public procurement to women, however women needed strategic procurement opportunities.

“We do see that the government and the private sector still want to use women to only provide catering. We want to ensure that our role does not remain one that provides food and does the décor. We [women] are bigger than those services and that is why we are working with the department of trade, industry & competition to ensure access to funding for small business,” she said.

The Women's Dialogue and Stakeholder Luncheon is the first formal engagement of the France South African Investment Conference led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

Philisiwe Mthethwa, non-executive director at the Industrial Development Corporation, also speaking at the event, said gender equity was crucial and not only a women's issue but a societal imperative.

“Let us forge partnerships rooted not only in profits but in purpose. Let us walk out of this room with collaborations formed, capital committed, and courage renewed. We are not here because we were invited, we are ready to lead, ready to build, ready to change the story for every woman and every girl, every unseen hereon still waiting to be seen,” she said.

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