This pipe is used in the industry. I want to notify the complaining member that this is in made South Africa and is also manufactured in Diepkloof, in Soweto. [Applause.] This is just to show that SMMEs work. [Interjections.] If you avoid provoking me, I may also avoid the temptation of reminding you that we are meeting all these challenges because of your granddad, Verwoerd. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The Budget Vote of the Department of Economic Development allows us to focus on small businesses and youth employment - two themes that the other hon members have spoken about in this august House. I have another bullet which I can produce; please behave.
As the ANC, we measure human welfare not only by the rate of growth of the economy, but by whether the economy grows to create jobs, empower the rural poor, bring township residents into the economic mainstream and offer hope to young people. Job creation is very important in this regard. Our challenge is therefore to find ways in which more of the nation becomes productive in the real economy - in the productive economy and not in stock exchanges.
This is where development of small business and co-operatives become so vital to our programmes in the National Development Plan, New Growth Path and the National Infrastructure Plan.
The history of small business support has never been good. During apartheid days black people were excluded from the mainstream economy. The only thing they were allowed to do was to buy, but not to sell. Licensing laws, property laws and business restrictions were hindrances. I can go on and on and this could take me back to Hertzog. [Laughter.]
While the democratic era changed much of these, we had not cracked the challenges of small business funding. Two years ago we had a multiplicity of funding agencies at national, provincial and local level. I am pleased that through the efforts of the Ministry of the department, we now have at least one small business funding agency at the national level. In the ANC we believe that co-ordination is the way to go. It is not a weakness, but a strength. [Applause.]
In the portfolio committee we have been engaging with the new agency to ensure that it is not simply the same as its predecessors. We want Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Sefa, to lend more - and be less expensive than other agencies - to the electorate and the poor.
Last year, this agency improved its lending rate to more than R400 million. This is twice as high as it was under the previous agencies, Khula and the SA Micro-Finance Apex Fund, Samaf. Once more integration is positive, therefore we welcome it. But even though it has increased substantially, it is still low and we want it to increase so that we make a meaningful impact on the lives of people. We raised this with the Minister of the Department of Economic Development earlier this year in the portfolio committee, and I am pleased to acknowledge that there is a big turnaround. The announcement made by the Minister today that Sefa will increase its lending from 2014-15 financial year to over a billion rand is very welcome. We are concerned as representatives of the ANC in Parliament that many middlemen, in the form of retail financial institutions, are taking money from the state and lending it to the small business person at too high rates. The government aims and targets helping these people. We don't want the middleperson who charges so much that by the time the money reaches the end user, much of it is depleted.
Few weeks ago, Sefa held a mini roadshow in my area, Soweto, to showcase some of their products. That was helpful, but Soweto is big and we need many more roadshows. Minister, you mentioned 18 roadshows. But if you look at the whole country, 18 are not going to take us anywhere. You better have ways to multiply them.
Government must not hide the good things that it does. Communicate what you do. We are communicating now so that people may not say we communicate because it's election time. We communicate all the time.
One of the challenges we confront in South Africa is high youth unemployment. Not all youth find jobs in big companies. We must therefore help young people to use their skills and energy to start their own businesses and co-operatives. Let us be realistic, many of the commercial banks would be reluctant to back a young entrepreneur. Yet, youth entrepreneurs created Facebook and Google of this world. That is where Sefa comes in to provide a first loan to young people.
What I'm wearing here is a black economic empowerment and co-operatives product. [Applause.] The trousers that I'm wearing here are also the product of the co-operatives. Mme Olga from Pimville made this attire. [Applause.]
The date of 18 April, on which the Youth Employment Accord was signed in Soweto, coincides with the day when the most important person, Enoch Sontonga, the writer and composer of Nkosi Sikelel'iAfrica passed on. This is a very historic day.
I support the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]