In the past few months, the department of small business development launched its Red Tape Reduction and Ease of Doing Business Campaign at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
I fully support its objective. Every effort to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy deserves our backing because excessive regulation remains one of the greatest obstacles to entrepreneurship, investment and job creation in SA.
The real question, however, is not whether we should reduce red tape.
The real question is whether public money is being spent on removing barriers or on announcing that we intend to remove them.
SA has become exceptionally good at launches, summits, awareness campaigns and glossy frameworks. We gather in prestigious venues, unveil ambitious plans and celebrate new initiatives.
Yet for the entrepreneur waiting months for a municipal permit, struggling to obtain an occupancy certificate, or chasing government for payment long after the 30-day deadline has expired, none of these announcements changes reality.
A campaign does not approve an application. A launch does not process a building plan. A media event does not pay an outstanding supplier invoice. Only implementation does.
If we are serious about making SA one of the easiest places in Africa to start and grow a business, then every available rand should be invested where it makes the greatest difference: removing the barriers entrepreneurs encounter every day.
Instead of spending millions on launches and awareness campaigns, government should be investing in practical reforms that deliver measurable outcomes.
We should digitise business registration, licensing and municipal approval systems into a single integrated platform where entrepreneurs submit their information once and track every application in real time.
We should establish dedicated Red Tape Reduction Units that intervene when businesses encounter unnecessary delays and bureaucratic obstacles.
We should modernise outdated administrative systems that force entrepreneurs to submit the same documents repeatedly to different departments.
We should publish municipal turnaround times for permits, licences and approvals so entrepreneurs know which municipalities enable investment and which continue to frustrate economic growth.
We should enforce compliance with the 30-day payment rule so that government stops treating small businesses as an interest-free source of finance.
These are not expensive ideas. They are investments that produce real economic returns.
Reducing red tape does not require another slogan. It requires government to perform the functions it is already expected to perform efficiently, consistently and transparently.
That is why I have consistently advocated for the introduction of a Municipal Red Tape Scorecard.
Municipal managers should have clear red tape reduction targets built into their performance agreements. What gets measured gets managed. Every municipality should be assessed on how quickly it processes approvals, responds to entrepreneurs, resolves complaints and pays suppliers.
Businesses deserve to know which municipalities are creating opportunities and which are standing in the way of investment and job creation.
Our reform agenda should go even further.
SA needs a comprehensive Red Tape Reduction Act with binding service standards across government.
We need a National Red Tape Portal where entrepreneurs can report regulatory barriers and track whether they are resolved.
We need a fully integrated digital business platform that connects company registration, licensing, municipal approvals and compliance requirements into one seamless process.
We need transparent public reporting so government performance is visible to every citizen.
Most importantly, we need a culture shift.
Government’s success should never be measured by the number of launches it hosts, the number of frameworks it publishes or the number of slogans it creates.
It should be measured by how many forms have been eliminated.
How much waiting time has been reduced.
How quickly suppliers are paid.
How many new businesses have opened because government finally got out of the way.
SA’s entrepreneurs are already carrying enough burdens. They contend with crime, unreliable infrastructure, rising costs and slow economic growth. They should not also have to battle unnecessary bureaucracy created by the very institutions meant to support them.
The most successful red tape reduction campaign will never be remembered for the size of its stage or the elegance of its branding.
It will be remembered because entrepreneurs no longer have to think about red tape at all.
That is where public money should be invested. Not in announcements. In implementation.Not in campaigns. In results.
Jane Sithole, Deputy Minister: Department of Small Business Development, MP
