Financial Mail - Small Business: Request for a re-design

Today's edition of Financial Mail has an article by Stephen Timm on the strategy review recently conducted on the Department of Small Business Development.

"A TROUBLED picture of the small business development department has been painted by an auditor's review, which calls for the axing or relocation of a number of the department’s support programmes.

The department has faced criticism that nearly two years after its inception it has little to show for itself.

Parliament’s small business development committee last year ordered the department to carry out a review of its programmes, following concern over its failure to develop a proper strategic plan."

The author quotes me quite extensively towards the end of the article. It's a fair assessment of the review, in my opinion, which is by leaps and bounds a more incisive analysis of the department's strategy and programmes than its own internal assessments.

Now we wait for the department's and Minister Zulu's response. At our first Portfolio Committee meeting on Feb 10th I will be urging some swift action as the department cannot afford more months of drift and non-performance.

You can read the whole article here.

The Parliamentary Monitoring Group has a very comprehensive account of the Portfolio Committee meeting where the review was presented, here.