As Moeletsi Mbeki highlighted many years ago, unless and until the three-cornered paradigm of government, big business and unions is radically remodelled to include "work" rather than just "jobs", as put forward by Thuli Madonsela (Protected Space, January 27-February 2), the SMME sector will continue to languish as an afterthought in government thinking.
The greater ability of the broader populace to participate in the economies of the countries north of SA is there for all to witness. The further north and west one goes, the more one sees people "at work" of one sort or another, often outdoors, informal or semi-formal, in a myriad different occupations and places.
Yet SA has remained something of a "desert" in that sense, despite having a department of small business development. Far too much bureaucratic red-tape plagues the sector, especially onerous labour regulations, and there remains the belief that the state "owes" people a job. It’s something the government has done little to address.
ADH Leishman
Cape Town
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