Youth Day in Soweto - where it all began

On June 16 1976 nine year old Noble Mabaso was shot by police outside his home on Nykale St, Naledi, Soweto. Two days later he died from his wounds in hospital. 

The atrocity happened just a few metres from Naledi High School, where student organisers of the march that day, protesting against Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, took decisions that changed South Africa forever. 

Parliamentary joint subcommittee on probing violence against foreign nationals gets underway

On Friday, the Parliamentary joint subcommittee on probing violence against foreign nationals sat for the second time. I have been appointed to the committee along with my DA colleagues Sej Motau from the National Assembly and Bridget Masango from the National Council of Provinces (she has replaced Jaco Londt who had to withdraw due to other commitments).

Media coverage has been meagre so far but will doubtless increase as the committee's deliberations ensue. ENCA covered the announcement of the Committee - see the link below:

ENCA on the announcement of the Committee

KZN job-creation projects lie abandoned

8 June 2015
Release: immediate

Note to editors: The following remarks follow an oversight visit today by the DA’s Shadow Minister of Small Business Development, Toby Chance MP, to several industrial and business parks in the City of eThekwini. 

Two major job creation projects meant to support small businesses in eThekwini are lying abandoned and derelict, a DA oversight visit to the metro has found today.

Both the Jabulani Business Park in Verulam and a Mushroom-growing plant near King Shaka International have fallen out of use for years, despite 383 000 eThekwini residents being unable to find work. 

Lucas Mogashoa's funeral in Soweto - the DA pulls out all the stops for a true son

This morning I attended Lucas Mogashoa's funeral in Soweto. It was a very moving occasion - actually two, for first there was the service then the burial.

Lucas was employed as the Constituency Officer in the DA's Mvelaphanda constituency, formerly known as Soweto North. It adjoins my own constituency, Soweto West. He died of a stroke last week, aged only 40, leaving three daughters and two sons.

He was born and spent his early years in Naledi. In the funeral leaflet, a brief Story of My life recounts how "I attended preparatory school in Naledi Day Care, because I was too smart. I started school at the age of 4 in 1980 at Lethabo Combined School, when I was 7 years old my teacher took me to a radio station as I was always a good speaker."

Minister Lindiwe Zulu is listening to the DA, at last!

In an interview with Fin24 journalist Matthew le Cordeur on Friday, Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu as good as admitted she is taking the advice my colleague Henro Kruger and I gave her in our budget debate speeches last Wednesday.

Not only will she focus on cutting red tape, but she will seek the merger of Sefa and Seda which I first mooted at a Portfolio Committee meeting earlier this month. I issued a press statement on May 7th to this effect.

Here is the first article and interview clip on red tape reduction and Sefa/Seda:

Fin24 Red Tape interview

Here is the second article and interview clip:

Fin24 Playing politics with the opposition

Minister Zulu correctly said that the Portfolio Committee is adopting a constructive approach to policy development. Many of my suggestions are finding expression in her statements, including references to 'gazelles', or fast-growing businesses which have the potential to create large numbers of jobs. I first brought this up in our strategy workshop last September and listed it as one of the things her department should focus on.

Without the DA's advice and input on the committee I think it's fair to say the Department and Minister Zulu would have been much slower in getting to grips with the priorities for small business.

You Tube video of the Small Business Development budget debate

Parliament has loaded the video of the Extended Public Committee debate on Small Business Development in Parliament on May 20th - you can view it here

I come on about 38 minutes into the debate.

Budget debate speech in Parliament

Today at 5 pm, the Extended Public Committee on Small Business Development sat in the National Assembly to hear the debate on the Department's budget. I was the third speaker, after Minister Zulu and Committee Chair Ruth Bhengu.

Here is my speech below:

Speech by

Toby Chance MP

DA Shadow Minister of Small Business Development

Extended Public Committee

20^th May 2015

Minister Zulu needs to wake up and defend her job-creating ministry

Chairperson,

Last year I spoke of the fairy tale formation of the Department of Small Business Development and likened the Honourable Zulu to Cinderella.

If she took the DA’s advice Minister Zulu could rid herself of the ugly step-sisters Rob Davies and Ebrahim Patel and become the first business-friendly minister in President Zuma’s cabinet.