ANDILE NTINGI: Government left small businesses to sink during lockdowns
With hundreds of thousands of businesses closing, less than 1,500 were able to access the SMME relief scheme
The third wave of Covid-19 infections gripping SA is likely to cause long-lasting damage to the small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector if an effective policy response is not implemented to soften the blow and help it recover from the ravages of the pandemic.
SMMEs are in the eye of the Covid-19 storm, having already borne the brunt of the pandemic during the first and second waves, which compelled the government to introduce successive lockdowns to curb the spread of the deadly bug. As a result, the virus has not only taken lives, it has also made thousands of SMMEs go bust, resulting in extensive job losses...
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