Creating jobs through SMMEs means creating a new market
There are a number of interventions that could be useful, such as the development of co-operative structures
In the light of Standard Bank’s decision to retrench more than a thousand people, many advisors have proposed small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMME) development as an answer to joblessness. In addition, SMME development is constantly promoted as the answer to SA’s youth unemployment problem. The importance of SMMEs is emphasised in most major policy engagements, from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2018 and 2019 state of the nation addresses, to the employment summit. As SMMEs are seen as a driver of economic development, SMME development has been linked to local procurement initiatives in the mining industry. Local procurement is driven by regulatory requirements that are linked to mining licences and so SMME development initiatives have multiplied. The regulatory pressure to procure locally is mirrored by significant conflict around benefit sharing in mining communities. There is strong pressure from communities for mines to share the benefits of mining locally, going beyo...
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