Chapter 6 Church and small business: building the community economy
6.2 Advocacy and policy engagement at the National, Provincial and
In chapter three we discussed that National Government was a policy formulating body. It provides a legal framework within which small businesses should operate. It does this through provisions of Acts of Parliament. Within this framework, and through its organs, Government formulates policies that guide budgeting for, financing of, licensing of businesses, provide information to, offer security to, and build infrastructure for, amongst others, SMME development and support. It is with understanding that the church will promote SMME development by engaging Government.
6.2.1National Government
The church would engage National Government to intervene in three areas, which were already identified as key necessary policy interventions in SMME development and support by other researchers (Haggblade and Brown, 1989; ILO, 1995; Yusuf and Kumar, 1996; and Rogerson, 2001). These were the rural SMME economy: (i) policies to ensure incentives for rural SMMEs; (ii) policies to facilitate the response of rural SMMEs; and (iii) policies to encourage local government entrepreneurship. All these interventions would be creating a healthy environment in which SMMEs thrive.
6.2.1.1 Policies to ensure incentives for rural SMMEs
In practice such policies would ensure that when Government allocates funding for spending in programmes, it is ensured, through the Department of Trade and Industry, that funds are not distributed to city municipalities only, but to the remotest areas like Tswaing as well.
6.2.1.2 Policies to facilitate the response of rural SMMEs
SMMEs in Tswaing are currently not sustainable, because of the various challenges they are facing. These challenges were discussed in chapter 5. The church would challenge Government to consider partnering with churches to facilitate establishment of some of the services, like the establishment of a Local service Centre. This would mean that National Government, places within its framework, monitoring and evaluation procedures for Provincial performance or delivery on National policies pertaining to the establishment of Local Support Service Centres within a reasonable distance of communities, one of them in Delareyville for an example.
The church could also request national government to put in place policies to assist in speeding up the process of rezoning church land, especially if the rezoning pertains to the availing of such land for small business development or support. National government would do this by putting time frames within policies regarding zoning of land for development purposes.
6.2.1.3 Policies to encourage Local Government Entrepreneurship
Yusuf and Kumar, (1996: 28) suggested that one of the functions of Local Government was stimulation and sustaining the rural SMME economy. Local Governments are also required to develop Small Business Strategies for their municipalities. In view of these requirements the church would challenge National Government to monitor the Province in terms of implementation of policies at Local Government level (Tswaing in this case), especially in view of what National Government stated in the Small Business Act, about viewing SMMEs as a vehicle for Black economic development (see chapter 3 on government policy).
6.2.2 Provincial Government
It is proposed that Government set up strategies that will deal with the high levels of illiteracy amongst small business owners. It is suggested that the church encourages partnerships with other stakeholders to design tailor made training for adults in different sectors of SMMEs.
Furthermore, churches need to forge partnerships with government to deal with backlog in capacity building. To this end the church would have to advocate for an establishment of a Centre for Rural Development. Such a centre could be attached to the North West University.
6.2.3. Local Government
Local government, over and above the provision of infrastructure has, as one of its functions, to stimulate rural economy. It has to exercise its powers and functions as set out in section 156 of the Constitution. Our concern here is Section 153 which deals with the developmental role of Municipal Government.
To help the local government in its role, it is suggested that the church assist the Tswaing Local municipality, together with the present participating stakeholders, in four areas, namely (i) capacity building and implementation of provincial policies; (ii) rural education; (iii) establishment of wealth creation projects (iv) availing market opportunities.
6.2.3.1 Capacity building and implementation of provincial policies
In terms of capacity building the church would have to join other stakeholders in the construction of an Integrated Development Plan for 2012-2016. This plan would incorporate the economic sustainable optimal use of natural and other resources in SMME development, starting new SMMEs which would include manufacturers, and supporting them in conjunction with other interested parties. It would be important for the church and the
community of Tswaing that this strategy clarifies areas that target wealth creation in its objectives.
6.2.3.2 Rural Education
The second area that the church could challenge local Government in would be that of rural education. It will be recalled that the rural areas of Tswaing had a high level of illiteracy.
This area, like many similar areas in South Africa, was affected by Apartheid policies and as such the rural communities were denied educational opportunities, more than urban dwellers.
The church could then advocate for development of agricultural schools, through the North West Province, advocating for incorporation of entrepreneurial skills as well as the establishment of more adult education centres.
6.2.3.3 Establishment of wealth creation projects
Tswaing Local Municipality would be engaged to support at least three wealth creation small businesses, like manufacturers of protective clothing, for an example. One or two of these small businesses could be placed in the area already designated for agricultural ventures on the outskirts of Atamelang (see Appendix 1). These projects could be small scale rural industries that would be identified by community members, with a cheese factory or a dairy as examples of such industries. These would follow the partnership model identified as model 3 by Botes and Abrahams (2008:128). This model would be adopted with the church as initiator, manager, and implementer of these projects, for the reason that, as things stand the local municipality seems to lack institutional capacity in the above regards.
6.2.3.4 Availing local market opportunities
Local Government could also be approached by the church to consider planning for periodic markets where small business owners could sell their products. Government could also use these for service delivery like delivery of social service food parcels, old age pension pay out points or mini home affairs service points.