Whether, with reference to the announcement made in November 2024 by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, regarding the R500 million in funding intended to support and assist spaza shops in rural areas and townships, she will furnish Ms T L Marawu with a comprehensive breakdown of how the specified funding has been distributed, with regard to the (a)(i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) race of recipients, (b) nationality and/or citizenship of recipients and (c) geographic location, namely (i) rural vs urban and (ii) which provinces; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?”

What (a) were her reasons for raising the hopes of small emerging cannabis farmers by advertising a fake tender on 24 January 2025 with a closing deadline of 11 February 2025, and then immediately removed it without any explanation and/or taking the emerging cannabis farmers into her confidence and (b) explanation does she have to the applicants who applied for tender and are now awaiting responses and answers from her?”

(1) (a) What (a) total number of applications have been received for the Youth Challenge Fund to date, (b), number of the applications have been (i) approved and (ii) declined, (c) is the total value of the approved applications and (d) is the demographic breakdown of (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful applicants in terms of age, gender, and geographic location; (2) (a) how does her department plan to support spaza shop owners in accessing resources and training to ensure that their businesses comply with regulatory requirements and thrive in the formal economy and (b) what measures is her department implementing to address the challenges faced by spaza shop owners in registering their spaza shops, particularly in township and informal areas? NW333E

(1) What are the full details of the progress that has been made to date regarding the merger of the Small Enterprise Development Agency and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency with the Cooperative Banks Development Agency; (2) whether she has finalised a fit for purpose structure of the merger; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, on what date is it envisaged that all the positions will be finalised?” NW158E(2) whether she has finalised a fit for purpose structure of the merger; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, on what date is it envisaged that all the positions will be finalised?” NW158E

Whether, during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 October 2024, the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEFDA) incurred expenditure on acting allowances due to reasons other than unfilled vacancies; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what was the total expenditure. (2) noting that SEDFA spent R6 639 676 on acting allowances for employees in higher positions during the specified period due to vacant positions remaining unfilled, what percentage does this equate to in relation to the total employee costs for the same period?” NW223E

What total (a) number of (i) employees has (aa) her department and (bb) entities reporting to her suspended in the past five years and (ii) the specified suspensions led to (aa) dismissals and (bb) resignations and (b) expenditure was incurred for (i) employee costs and/or remunerations and (ii) legal fees due to the specified suspensions?”

Noting that her department has assisted 857 cooperatives in the past five years, what is the breakdown of the cooperatives by (a) province, (b) district and (c) municipality?”

(a) What amount was paid out as prizes to the winners of the National Presidential Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Awards and (b) what amount of the total prize money was awarded to (i) women, (ii) youth and (iii) persons living with disabilities?”

In light of the registration of spaza shops, (a) what plans are in place to ensure that the local residents of the respective communities are the primary and majority beneficiaries of the township and rural economies, considering that big business retailers have announced their plans to use the registration period of spaza shops to enter the more than R200 billion township economy to bolster their profit margins and (b) how does she plan to protect locals hoping to open, own and fully control businesses in the township from the profit-driven white business corporations?”

What are the full details of the steps her department has taken to ensure alignment of the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency and the development finance institutions that it intends to collaborate with to (a) avoid duplication and (b) enhance efficiency in supporting small businesses?”