Transformation in Tourism Sector: Tourism B-BBEE Charter Council briefing

Tourism

09 June 2017
Chairperson: Ms B Ngcobo (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Tourism Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Charter Council briefed the Committee on transformation in the tourism sector.

The Council worked jointly with the National Department of Tourism (NDT) to implement initiatives to gauge and drive transformation in the tourism sector. These included doing a new baseline study on the state of transformation in the sector which was to be completed by end of September 2017. The Council also had a Plan of Action, a Transformation Strategy, a Roundtable discussion where industry leaders would be engaged as well as a Tourism Transformation Summit to be held in October 2017. Sector specific challenges with regard to tourism transformation included that the vast majority of tourism enterprises had no black female shareholding. There was also still a very low level of black female absorption at directorship level of tourism enterprises. The recruitment and retention of black skilled staff presented a challenge in meeting employment equity targets particularly for large enterprises where more specialised skills were required. Access to funding was a major challenge for small businesses. Awareness of the Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code as compared to the Department of Trade and Industry’s generic code was low.  A total of 17 workshops were held in all nine provinces to demystify B-BBEE and to broaden the awareness of the amended Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code. The Committee was provided with an overview of the Council’s Plan of Action which focused on practical initiatives that could be implemented within the short, medium and long term to rapidly advance the course of transformation in the tourism sector. In the short term the Council prioritised certain initiatives. These included engaging National Treasury and the private sector to do away with the “bill back” system. It was a stay now pay later type of system. Late payments due to the “bill back” system were killing Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). The idea was also to engage government and state owned entities to procure from SMMEs, especially black owned travel and accommodation businesses and set-asides. There was additionally the establishment of the Tourism Transformation Fund for black new entrants and existing businesses. Corruption in transformation needed to be eliminated and small businesses were encouraged to name and shame perpetrators

The Council was asked what it would do differently to ensure that the B-BBEE Scorecard ensured transformation in the sector. Concern was raised that the activities of the Council seemed not to be time bound. Were there partnerships between the Council and government, the private sector and others? If so how were these partnerships managed? The Council was also asked whether it encouraged enterprise and supplier development. Did the Council work well with the industry? The briefing had highlighted the concern about SMMEs going under due to not being paid or not being paid on time for services rendered. Members observed the main transgressor to be government. Members asked for detail on why establishments would extend credit to government and big corporates through the bill back system. Where had the bill back system come from? Members were informed that SA was the only country that had the system. The United Kingdom had abolished the system. Members understood that people paid for their stays and that no credit was allowed. Members asked whether the bill back system only applied to government and corporates. It clearly did not apply to individ0uals. Members supported the Council that the bill back system should be done away with. It was felt that these types of issues should be covered in empowerment training for SMMEs. Cash flow management should also be part of training courses. Members felt that SMMEs needed to fight more for their businesses. What was the Council doing to assist SMMEs to become more assertive? Members understood it to be a catch 22 situation. If small businesses offered credit then they suffered losses due to non payment and if they refused credit then they lost business. The issue was about what the truth was. Was government paying SMMEs or not? Did government owe SMMES or not? Members suspected that government was not paying and owed SMMEs. What were the rand amounts that government owed? From the discussion members realised that there were various persons being owed money in the value chain. An example would be where government made a booking with a travel agent and the travel agent in turn made a booking with a bed and breakfast. The Committee really needed figures on who owed who and how much. Everyone was in agreement that it was a complex process. The Council was asked to brief the Committee over the matter at another time. Members felt that the Committee needed to do something about departments and municipalities paying SMMEs late. Members additionally felt that there was also a need to influence local procurement policies. In as much as members appreciated the planned initiatives of the Council it was felt that existing programmes like the Tourism Incentive Programme (TIP) could also contribute towards transformation in the sector. The TIP spoke to growing the sector through new entrants as well as by introducing new business opportunities. Members also felt that demand in the sector needed to be boosted and that destination marketing efforts should be intensified. Members however observed that there seemed to be a disconnect between the Council and municipalities. The work of municipalities was key to create and advance tourism potential at local level. Municipalities needed to be transformed on how they perceived tourism. On transformation, technology needed to be used to address issues on geographic spread. Hindrances were that air travel in SA was far too expensive and that aviation taxes were too high. Members were aware that affordability was an issue when it came to South Africans travelling. The Council was encouraged to transform established members of the tourism industry as well. Members suggested that the Tourism Marketing SA (TOMSA) Levy be considered as a transformation fund. Could the TOMSA Levy funds not be ring-fenced for transformation, capacity building etc. Members observed that the Council had in its briefing spoken about it being autonomous yet the Council was dependant on the NDT to pay Council members. The Council also seemed to look at other avenues to fund programmes. Members felt that if the Council was autonomous it should be able to drive its own agenda. The Committee needed to see a distinction in the work of the Council and that of the NDT. The Council was asked what tools there were to measure its success. The Committee would also appreciate information on what progress the Council had made as well as on what challenges had been faced. Members observed that the same success stories were presented to them over and over again by whoever made presentations to the Committee. The Council was asked whether it had hit a brick wall. What was the situation at present? Members asked whether it was sufficient for the Council only to meet four times a year given its task. The Council was asked whether it encountered an attitude from industry when it came to the industry funding the Council. The Council was also asked what the skills challenges were that black businesses faced. What policy improvements could the Committee make in order to assist with the Council’s efforts? Members asked what the legacy of the Council was for the twelve months that they were in existence. Why the Council should be allowed to complete its remaining two year term. The NDT was asked why the Council was not yet registered. What was the Council doing to improve access to funding for SMMEs? In its future interactions with the Committee the Council was asked to provide more figures in its presentations. Members also wished to be informed about efforts on entrepreneurship and how small businesses could drive projects themselves. The Committee suggested that the Council do a follow up on the matter of non-payment by government of SMMEs. 

Meeting report

The delegation comprised of Ms Vuyo Mahlati, Chairperson, Ms Mmatsatsi Ramawela, Council Member on Sub-Committee: Hospitality and Related Services, Ms Gail Westphal, Council Member on Sub-Committee: Hospitality and Related Services, Ms Nyeleti Mushuana, Council Member on Sub-Committee: Accommodation, Mr Adriaan Liebetrau, Council Member on Sub-Committee: Hospitality and Related Services, Mr Tshifiwa Tshivhengwa, Council Member on Sub-Committee: Accommodation and Mr Blacky Komani Council Member on Sub-Committee: Travel and Related Services. The National Department of Tourism  (NDT) was represented by Mr Mathibela Mankge, Director: Tourism B-BBEE Support Services who was also a member of the B-BBEE Charter Council, Ms Lulama Duma, Deputy Director General: Corporate Services and Ms Petra van Niekerk, Parliamentary Liaison Officer: Office of the Director General.

Briefing by the Tourism Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Charter Council on transformation in the tourism sector

Ms Mahlati explained that the purpose of the briefing was to speak to the achievements of the Tourism B-BBEE Charter Council and on other developments in the sector. The Council as a Section 21 entity was encouraged to be registered as an independent body but to date was not. The Council should be co-funded by the private sector and the NDT. However to date the Council was mainly funded by the NDT.

In terms of Section 6.5 Statement 003 of the Amended B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice, the Council should report to:

  • The Minister of Tourism;
  • The B-BBEE Commission;
  • The B-BBEE Presidential Advisory Council; and
  • The Minister of Trade and Industry on progress made by the sector subject to the Amended Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code.

Such reports should contain qualitative and quantitative information about the performance of the sector, including details about all the elements of the amended Tourism Sector Code’s B-BBEE balanced scorecard.  

The Committee was provided with a breakdown of the provincial share on international arrivals and on domestic trips in 2016. Concerning the former, Gauteng (42,9%) was the best performing and Northern Cape the worst. With respect to domestic trips, Limpopo (31,3%) had the biggest share and the Northern Cape (2%) had the smallest.

The Council, jointly with the Department, implemented various initiatives to gauge and drive transformation in the tourism sector. These included doing a new baseline study on the state of transformation in the sector which was to be completed by end of September 2017. The Council also had a Plan of Action, a Transformation Strategy, a Roundtable discussion where industry leaders would be engaged as well as a Tourism Transformation Summit to be held in October 2017.

 In 2010/11 a study was done on the state of transformation in the sector and it was found that the majority of tourism enterprises failed to meet transformation targets across all elements of the B-BBEE Scorecard. The basis of the 2010/11 study was used to amend the Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code. Sector specific challenges with regard to tourism transformation included that the vast majority of tourism enterprises had no black female shareholding. There was still a very low level of black female absorption at directorship level of tourism enterprises. The recruitment and retention of black skilled staff presented a challenge in meeting employment equity targets particularly for large enterprises where more specialised skills were required. Access to funding was a major challenge for small businesses. Awareness of the tourism sector specific Code as compared to the DTI’s generic code was low.  A total of 17 workshops were held in all nine provinces to demystify B-BBEE and to broaden the awareness of the amended Code.

Members were given examples of best practice models of tourism transformation in SA. The Committee was provided with an overview of the Council’s Plan of Action which focused on practical initiatives that could be implemented within the short, medium and long term to rapidly advance the course of transformation in the tourism sector. In the short term the Council prioritised certain initiatives. These included engaging National Treasury and the private sector to do away with the “bill back” system. It was a stay now pay later type of system. Late payments due to the “bill back” system were killing Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). SA was the only country in the world which allowed people to stay in hotels on credit. The idea was also to engage government and state owned entities to procure from SMMEs, especially black owned travel and accommodation businesses and set-asides. There was additionally the establishment of the Tourism Transformation Fund for black new entrants and existing businesses. The NDT had provided R120m for three years towards the Fund. The Council needed to engage private sector to contribute more to the Fund. The R120m was considered far too little; it should rather be around R120bn. Corruption in transformation needed to be eliminated and small businesses were encouraged to name and shame perpetrators.

In conclusion, the Council requested the Committee to note progress and assist in oversight of all parties towards implementation of the transformation programme in the tourism sector.

Discussion

The Chairperson asked what the Council would do differently to ensure that the B-BBEE Scorecard ensured transformation in the sector. She noted that there seemed to be no clear time bound activities. Were there partnerships with government, the private sector and with others and if there were how these partnerships were managed? She also asked whether the Council was encouraging enterprise and supplier development. Did the Council work well with the tourism industry?

Ms Mahlati tasked members of the Council to speak to some of the issues raised by the Chairperson.

Mr Komani stated that the Tourvest Group of which he was part of was a 67% black owned company. The Group worked with small enterprises. Discussions were taking place on assisting start up travel agencies as well. Mentoring of 40 agencies was done. The Group also used small transport companies. The idea was for transformation to be sustainable. It was sad that the Nelson Mandela Museum in the Eastern Cape Province was falling apart. In order for there to be growth he felt that partnerships with different entities were needed.

Ms Mushuana said that she represented an establishment in Limpopo Province that had twenty rooms. She stated that the tourism sector was highly challenging. She felt that if she was part of the Council she could in some way make a contribution. Access to markets for small businesses was an issue and the idea was to access grant funding for new entrants. It was not easy to gain entry into the tourism industry, capital was needed. Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) were not even aware of grant funding that was available. She noted that big croups like Tourvest should perhaps send guests to small establishments. The smaller establishments mainly depended on government. She hoped that departments would apply the B-BBEE Codes in such a way that black persons in the industry could be assisted.

Mr Liebetrau pointed out that the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) did quite a bit on environmental issues and on transformation. The CTICC was ranked number four in Africa and the Middle East. He was a representative from Tsogo Sun, which was the third largest empowered entity on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Tsogo Sun was the biggest company in the hospitality industry. More than 50% of its employees were female. Tsogo Sun also adopted guest houses and also provided mentorship.

Ms Westphal, on hidden gems, said that she as the one time Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) had had a joint initiative with SA Tourism where they went to every province and selected 30 companies in each of the provinces to assist. These companies received training for a week. They were trained on various aspects of their businesses. The training was intensive. At tourism indabas many small businesses were not ready to participate. Of these companies that were trained ten were taken to the tourism indaba. The companies were given mentors. It was an invaluable experience for these companies. Small businesses were the hidden gems. Small businesses were in the forefront and conducted business. These types of joint marketing efforts should be encouraged. It could also be done in relation to the domestic market. These were real tangible initiatives.    

Ms Mahlati, on how the Council ensured that the Codes brought about transformation, said that there were certain things that the Council corrected.

Mr Komani added that there was a small tour operator from Port Elizabeth that was one of Tourvest’s suppliers at present.

Mr G Krumbock (DA) said that Ms Mahlati had spoken about wanting R120bn for the Transformation Fund. R120bn was 10% of the budget and a hundred times more than the current R120m. R120bn was far too extreme. The briefing had spoken about the lack of payment to small businesses. The transgressor seemed to be government. The briefing also spoke about government asking establishments to provide it with a R10m credit line. He said that he needed more input. It was also stated that SA was the only country with the bill back system. He always stayed at hotels and he was never given credit. A person was required to provide credit card details to secure a booking. Where did the bill back system come from? As far as he understood people paid for their stays, there was no credit. Was the culture of stay now pay later restricted to government? Did it apply to corporates? It clearly seemed not to apply to individuals. On the credit crunch that small businesses faced these issues should be covered in empowerment training. Cash flow management should be part of training courses. He felt that SMMEs needed to fight more for their businesses. What was the Council doing to assist SMMEs to be more assertive?  He was aware that the Council would respond by saying that if no credit was given the business would be taken elsewhere. Why could places like the Road Lodge say no to credit? Why was it only emerging SMMEs that was going through this predicament? Something was surely wrong. It was not the first time that the Committee was hearing about SMMEs not receiving payments that were due to them. It hampered the growth of SMMEs. From what presenters had said it looked as if government was the main transgressor. He had asked the then Minister of Tourism how much was owed and the answer given by the Minister was zero. Somebody was not telling the truth. He suspected that government was not paying. What was the extent of the money owed to SMMEs? What was the rand amounts for 30, 60 and 90 day payment periods. He felt that the numbers simply did not add up.

Ms Mahlati, on the R120bn comment, said she was merely being emphatic that the R120m for the Transformation Fund was far too little. Tourism contributed 3.1% towards SA’s GDP. More funds were needed if transformation efforts were to be taken seriously. The funding was overall funding which included government and private sector. The Council was discussing the mechanics to come up with a number. The Council had spoken to the Minister of Tourism. Roundtable discussions would take place.

She noted that in 1998 it was already realised that even though mining and agriculture were the main drivers of the economy at the time there would come a time when there would be dips in those sectors and the tourism sector would come to the fore. High level awareness was needed on this funding.

Mr Tshivhengwa explained that the bill back system applied to both corporate companies and government. It did not apply to individuals. Companies did request travel agencies to open up accounts for them. This happened at all levels of government as well. Corporate companies either had an account or they gave their employees virtual credit cards. Usually it was required that government had to pay within thirty days after the service had been rendered. Unfortunately there were delays. Consequently one needed a great amount of backing to survive in the meantime. The Council was calling for the levelling of the playing field. Big hotel groups also had accounts with travel agencies. The bill back system had been coming on for a long time. It was difficult for small businesses when they were not paid on time.

It was always preferable to be paid immediately after a service had been rendered. At present things were not yet there. He was realistic that it would take time to rectify things. There had to be agreement amongst all players in the industry. It could be made mandated or legislated but he was not sure what the best route to follow was. Government could go the route of virtual credit cards. This would ensure that small businesses survived. Whether it took one year or two it could be done.

Ms Ramawela stated that the bill back system of payment was done on a goodwill basis. It would take the same goodwill to resolve the issue. It was not about legislation. Everyone needed to come together to deal with the bill back system. This was the way in which the United Kingdom had gotten rid of the bill back system. The biggest problem was cash flow for small businesses. It was not only small businesses that suffered with the bill back system. Big corporates too had to contend with it. She assured the Committee that there were figures which spoke to how much government owed in various sectors within the tourism industry.

The Chairperson asked Ms Ramawela to provide the Committee with information on the departments that had not paid small businesses.

Ms Ramawela agreed. 

Mr Krumbock said that what he was hearing was that there were different persons owing money in the value chain. For instance government made a block booking with a travel agent. The travel agent in turn made a booking with an emerging bed and breakfast. So the bed and breakfast would be owed by the travel agent and the travel agent would be owed by government. Was it possible for the travel agent to pay the bed and breakfast before invoicing government? He asked whether the travel agent was also a victim when government did not pay on time. Who was the debtor? The bed and breakfast was the creditor. The Committee really needed the figures on who owed who and by how much. Members also needed to know what the terms of payment were.

Ms Mahlati agreed that it was a complex process. The Council would in writing clarify it for the Committee. It was a legacy issue. The Council had the information to clarify things. The Council was busy with a Baseline and Information Strategy. The Council would be able to present current case studies to the Committee. There were new case studies that were still to be concluded.

Ms Westphal, on who was owed the money. explained that the SMME was directly owed when contracted by departments or the travel agent. She noted that travel agencies also tended to roll the money. There were also those instances where travel agencies were not paid by government departments. She stated that it could get ugly. It was a messy process. It would be fully explained when the Council returned with an explanatory presentation.

Ms Ramawela stated that there was a value chain. There were many persons involved in the value chain. Money was owed at different stages. It was a very complex transactional thing.

Mr J Vos (DA) stated that transformation was very important. Much had been said about different mechanisms to bring about transformation. He on the other hand felt that demand too had to be boosted. The new Tourism Transformation Fund was one of the initiatives that had been spoken about. The tourism industry needed to be made more inclusive. He personally felt strongly about the Tourism Incentive Programme (TIP). It spoke to growing the tourism pool ie new entrants. One had to consider using existing programmes as well. The TIP spoke to business opportunities as well ie township tours, dining with a local etc. He however observed that there seemed to be a disconnect between the Council and municipalities. The work of municipalities was key to create and advance tourism potential at local level. Product development also needed to take place at municipal level. There was a need to work closer with municipalities to grow tourism business from the ground up. This was a huge issue at local government level. Municipalities needed to be transformed about how they perceived tourism. He pointed out that the Council’s figures on provinces showed that there was a need to do more on transformation of the tourism landscape across SA. The figures were a good benchmark. There was a need for aggressive destination marketing efforts. On transformation, technology needed to be used to address issues on geographic spread. Air travel in SA was far too expensive. Aviation taxes were also high. Culture and heritage was important in SA and there was a need to encourage South Africans to travel. He was aware that affordability was an issue when it came to South Africans travelling. He emphasised that there was a need to transform established members of the tourism industry as well. He suggested that the Tourism Marketing SA (TOMSA) Levy be considered as a transformation fund. He was aware that the funds were presently used for marketing purposes. Could the TOMSA Levy funds not be ring-fenced for transformation, capacity building etc?

Ms Ramawela, on the TOMSA Levy issue, said that the Council was always open to suggestions. TOMSA was an initiative of both government and industry. Money was a big issue all around. The tax suggestion was an option. Tourism was a huge collector of money. It was important that taxes should be ploughed back into the industry.

Mr Komani said that demand was important. He explained that the reason why tourism was growing in SA was because SA was safe and the rand was weak. It was important to increase tourist numbers. Currently the figure sat at 14%. Everyone in the tourism sector had to play its part ie airlines, motor vehicle rental agencies etc. SA had to take advantage of the fact that the rest of the world was regarded as being unstable. On there being a disconnect with municipalities he explained that no big operator was willing to drive through Umtata. The roads were littered with potholes and it was unsafe. The Tourvest Group stopped going to Nelson Mandela Museum.

Ms Mushuana, on the development of attractions and to get municipalities involved, explained that municipalities did not understand the impact of tourism in their communities. Greater marketing efforts went into the three metros than smaller municipalities. SA should be marketed as a whole and not each province having its own efforts. Grant funding from the NDT should be used to develop attractions.

Ms L Makhubele-Mashele (ANC) pointed out that the briefing spoke about the Council operating autonomously yet the Council was dependant on the National Department of Tourism (NDT) to pay Council members. The Council seemed to also look at other avenues to fund programmes. If the Council was autonomous it should drive its own agenda. The Committee needed to see a distinction in the work of the Council and that of the NDT. The briefing had also spoke about the Council doing research to measure the extent of transformation in the sector. What other tools were there to measure the Council’s success. The Committee would appreciate information on what progress the Council had made as well as on what challenges had been faced. She pointed out that the same examples of success stories seemed to be presented on by everyone. The Council was asked whether it had hit a brick wall.

Ms Mahlati explained that the autonomy spoken of was in terms of decisions taken by the Council. The Council was independent of government and society. The Council was not a government entity. The legislation - the basis on which the Council was formed - said that both government and private sector should contribute towards its funding. Thus far the funding from government received was for the Secretariat and for the four meetings of the Council. The Council did get private sector support. The workshops that had been held was co-supported by private sector in partnership with the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA).The Council had been asked to come up with a business plan in terms of this support. The Council as yet was not established as a legal entity.

Ms Mushuana conceded that there were few success stories and it would remain that way as long as there were barriers to entry. There was biasness on procurement. The industry should be radically transformed.

Ms E Masehela (ANC) referred to page 18 which spoke about percentages that were required of a B-BBEE compliant entity. She asked what the situation at present was. Did the Council have statistics? What were the hindrances that were encountered?

Ms S Xego (ANC) asked whether it was sufficient for the Council only to meet four times a year given its task. Was it enough time to meet to implement the Council’s action plan and for it to do work. Given that the Council was funded by the NDT she asked whether there was an attitude from the industry to fund the Council. She felt that the Committee needed to do something about departments and municipalities paying SMMEs late. Payment should be made within thirty days. She assured the Council that it had the Committee’s support on all sides. She also felt that there was a need to influence local procurement policies. She noted that tourism cut across various departments. Was enough being done on skills development? What were the skills challenges that black establishments faced. What improvements on policy could the Committee make to assist ie for instance on business licences. She was concerned that no timeframes were attached to the action plan of the Council given that transformation was a broad issue.

Ms Ramwela pointed out that tourism was a cut across sector. Everything that government did affected tourism. Tourism needed all the assistance from across government.

Mr Komani on the industry possibly having an attitude on funding the Council stated that Ms Mahlati had held discussions with the industry on transformation being everyone’s responsibility. Big business would be willing to come on board if they saw value. The industry needed to be sustainable. 

Ms P Adams (ANC) pointed out that the Council was appointed in May 2016. Why should the present Council remain for the remaining two years of its term? What was the legacy of the Council for the past 12 months? The Council was made up of a great deal of stakeholders. Should it not have academic staff on it? She asked the NDT why the Council was not yet registered. She felt that the Council could be co-funded by the NDT and private sector. She felt the figures on international arrivals to be dismal. What was the engagement by the Council with SA Tourism? She asked what the Council was doing about the problem of access to funding for SMMEs. Was industry players like Tsogo Sun providing funding other than assisting with training etc. She asked what the outcomes of the 17 workshops were. The Committee felt strongly about support to new entrants to the industry. There were however no timelines for the Council’s plan of action. The Committee needed exact dates.

Ms Ramawela, on the funding of the Council, said that the industry did contribute. Tsogo Sun and other big players did chip in. The issue was about leveraging the funding. On funding and access issues that affected small businesses, she said that funding issues plagued all businesses big and small. The serious issue was about development funding. Regulations for development funds were less onerous than funds from commercial sources. Commercial banks required equity.

Mr Komani, on why the Council should be kept on for the next two years, stated that it had done a good job thus far. The Council was much more focussed and business driven. The Committee would see greater efforts of the Council as time went by.

Ms Mushuana, on having academics on the Council, said that such expertise could be co-opted.

Ms Mahlati stated that the Council had entered into partnerships with universities. There were Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Universities of Pretoria and Johannesburg. The Council did its best to bring in youth and women across all sectors. Members of the Council had been in the tourism industry for many years. On timeframes, she pointed out that the Council’s action plan did have targets. There were dates attached to things spoken about. The preliminary date for the roundtable discussions was 28 July 2017. No final date had been set yet. The Council worked with the TBCSA on it. Workshops were also held with branches of departments. The issue of transformation of the industry was linked to the transformation of blacks in the industry. The tourism industry needed to be de-racialised. A summit was planned as a great deal of engagement was required. It had to be realised that things took time. On the funding of small business, there was grant funding and enterprise funding. She gave the example of a black woman who started Fly Blue Crane airline. The airline had come up with good ideas on the cost of airline travel but the only problem was that the airline was not sustainable. 

Ms Duma noted that the Council comprised of big and small operators. The Council provided guidance in sectors where transformation needed to take place. On why the Council was not yet registered she assured the Committee that she would refer the matter to the Minister of Tourism, Ms Tokozile Xasa. In the Committee’s next engagement with the NDT light would be shed over the matter.

Ms Mahlati said that she was mindful of the issue of conflict of interest since the industry itself sat on the Council. However measures were in place to prevent it from happening.

Ms Ramawela added that the Council was deliberately industry heavy. The then Minister of Tourism, Mr Derek Hanekom, had the insight to involve the industry itself. She felt it to be a brilliant strategy. All the industry big players were on the Council. They were insiders who had an objective to achieve. She said that the Committee needed to keep track of the Council’s efforts within the next twelve months.

The Chairperson said that the Council should do a follow up on the issue of non payment by government of SMMEs. She noted that much greater engagement with the Council was needed. The Committee would invite the Council to another meeting during parliament’s next session.

Mr Krumbock referred to page 14 of the presentation document and said that there was a great deal of adjectives used but no figures was given. In its next interaction with the Committee the Council was asked to provide more figures. In the next engagement he wished to be informed about efforts on entrepreneurship and how small businesses could drive projects themselves. The idea was to get out from the nurture mode. 

The meeting was adjourned.

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