BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane has reacted with great scepticism to the news that government is planning to establish a R500 million joint fund to support township and rural businesses.
In a television interview with the public broadcaster (SABC) on Thursday morning, Maimane demanded that the government departments responsible for the fund must be more transparent by explaining where the money will come from.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Thembi Simelane confirmed during a media briefing on interventions to mitigate the uptick in foodborne illnesses that work to create the fund is already underway.
She said the departments tasked with overseeing the joint fund are hard at work drafting standard operating procedures and guidelines on its rightful use and accountability.
“We need a full explanation of where the R500 million is going to go! During the [covid-19] pandemic we saw Royal Bhaca awarded R125 million in tenders. We saw Hamilton Ndlovu get tenders for R172 million. We need this money to [benefit] real South African spaza shop owners, not to connected cadres,” said Maimane.
The Minister stressed that to qualify for the fund, a business owner must be a South African citizen operating within the borders of the country.
Businesses must be registered with local municipality in accordance with the relevant by-laws and have valid registration with CIPC and SARS.
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