Supermarket news covers my private member's bill to establish a small enterprises ombud service

The word is getting out to the retail sector about my ombud service bill. Big retailers are some of the worst offenders when dictating payment terms to small suppliers. Even big suppliers are affected as are their own supply chains which negatively affects their suppliers' cash flow. It's a chain reaction and normally in the supply chain the organisation sitting at the top comes out best - retailers take in cash from customers and regularly pay suppliers in 60 days or more so getting a turn on their money.

Read the article in Supermarket News here.

My ombudsman proposal has many features of the UK Grocery Code Adjudicator - more info can be found about this here.

Notes from the House features my private member's bill on the small enterprises ombud service

Parliamentary correspondent Moira Levy has featured an article on my private member's bill to establish a small enterprises ombud service in her newsletter Notes from the House.

This is how they describe themselves:

Notes from the House is an independent weekly digital newsletter that tracks and monitors Parliament in its role of holding government to account and passing legislation to improve people’s lives. It aims to bring you the news from Parliament that you don’t get elsewhere.

You can read the article here.

Cape chamber backs plan for a payments ombud for small businesses

Today's Business Day carried a follow-up story to yesterday's coverage of my private member's bill to establish a small enterprises ombud service.

The momentum for this proposal is building up step by step. The Cape Chamber is an influential body and its endorsement will be noticed by its members who will hopefully add their voice to this proposal.

You can read the article here.

Business Day coverage of my proposed Ombud Service

Today's Business Day gives prominent coverage to my private member's bill to establish a small enterprises ombud service.

You can read the article on Business Live here.

Media statement: Department of Small Business Development has no approved organizational structure after 4 years

Date: 31 May 2018

Release: Immediate

The DA has received information that confirms that the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) does not have an approved organisational structure, four years after its formation. This has rendered it incapable of fulfilling its core function of small business development in the country. On 23 of October 2017, the former Minister of Public Service and Administration, Faith Muthambi, sent a cautionary note (see here) to Minister Zulu advising that the DSBD still lacks a finalised organisational structure based on the Department’s strategic plan.

My Small Enterprises Ombud Service private member's bill tabled in Parliament

On Tuesday 29th May my Small Enterprises Ombud Service private member's bill was ATC'd. That's Parliamentary speak for being listed in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of that day. The bill has been sent to the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development for consideration. I expect to present it to the Committee early in the Third Term, in August.

I had hoped to wait until the deadline for comments and submissions on the bill, 11th June, to make final adjustments before tabling it. However, out of the blue Parliament imposed a deadline of 31st May for bills to be tabled if the sponsors wanted them finalised during this, the 5th Parliament which ends just before the next election, expected in May 2019. Fortunately the many submissions I received included nothing fundamentally different from what the bill envisages so we were able to get it through in time.

The bill is available to download from the DA website here.

First review of my Private Member's Bill to establish a small enterprises ombudsman

Today's edition of Legal Brief, the online legal news hub as it calls itself, is first out of the starter blocks to comment on my private member's bill to establish a Small Enterprises Ombud Service.

It points out that both the Department of Small Business Development and the Portfolio Committee have supported the idea of an ombudsman to resolve disputes, so we now have to see if politics gets in the way of common sense and the bill encounters hurdles when it comes before the Committee.

You can read the review here.