Small businesses must be protected from big unions

Media statement

30 June 2014

The DA will write to the Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu, requesting she advocate for the exclusion of small and medium business enterprises from collective bargaining agreements which they are not signatories to through amendments to the Labour Relations Amendment Act. 

This follows on-going strike action within the metal and engineering sector post the signing of an agreement between major workers' union NUMSA and major employers' association, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA) - bringing a partial end to a 4 week long strike in the metal and engineering sector.

Budget vote speech - Trade & Industry

Speech by Toby Chance MP

DTI budget vote

Old Assembly Chamber

Parliament

22^nd July 2014

South Africa below SADC neighbours on entrepreneurship

Chairperson, Honourable Members and visitors in the gallery, good evening, sanibonani, goeie naand.

The Honourable members on the other side of the House like telling stories. So let me tell a story of my own. And thank you, Honourable Bhengu, for providing such a perfect introduction for me.

For many South Africans, the formation of the Department of Small Business Development is a fairy tale come true.

And in all fairy tales there are heroes as well as villains.

Budget vote speech - Economic Development

Speech by Toby Chance MP

Economic Development budget vote

Old Assembly Chamber

Parliament

22^nd July 2014

DSBD must make more funding available for small businesses

Chairperson, Honourable Members and visitors in the gallery, good morning, sawobona, goeie more.

In 1994, after years of economic isolation, Anglo American Corporation controlled 44% of JSE-listed companies and the top five corporates controlled 84%.

Since then the structure of our economy has changed dramatically. But the concentration of the main economic levers in the hands of a few large companies remains a concern.

Nelson Mandela Day in Athlone, Cape Town

Today was Nelson Mandela Day, commemorating the birth of the great man 94 years ago, on July 18th 1918. The United Nations has declared this a day of kindness and goodwill, to honour the deeds of a man who contributed so much to humanity and who, along with FW de Klerk and other courageous leaders of that time, rescued South Africa from centuries of racial hatred and conflict and set us on a new course.

South African tax payers, all 5 million of us, do not need reminding we are supporting another 45 million less well off people. It is drummed into our heads daily. We live in a very unequal society, and yesterday was an opportunity for us not just to begrudgingly hand over our precious taxes but go the extra mile and give of our time too.

Is Julius Malema the new Oswald Mosley?

Every country throws up populist leaders from time to time. They usually emerge in times of national tension or weak institutional leadership, or when the government of the day is directionless. They play on the anxieties of their constituencies, let down by competing ruling elites scurrying around to protect their interests while they vie for power.

Owning up to the trust deficit - Letter published in Business Day 7th July 2014

Click here to go to the BDLive website or read the letter below.

Thursday’s Business Day carried an article by Paul Vecchiatto on the exchanges between me and members of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development (ANC rejects claim it is ‘against business’, 3 July).

What it omits to mention were the further denials by some ANC members of the Committee of my claim that a trust deficit exists between government and business, not to mention labour. I referred to the trust deficit because I thought this was something we could all agree on.

Here's how to be radical, Mr Netshitenzhe - Letter to the Mail & Guardian

The Mail & Guardian this week published a letter I wrote to them in response to an article by Joel Netshitenzhe in last week's edition. Read it here or below:

Joel Netshitenzhe, former ANC spin doctor turned sage, attempts to stand above the fray in his call for collective responsibility in bringing about radical change to South Africa.

Would that he had adopted such a disinterested approach when he and his comrades developed the ANC’s cadre deployment policy in the mid-1990s. Had he done so, this policy would never have seen the light of day.