Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Sihle Zikalala says the time has come for the province to produce goods in the townships and villages of the province for itself, and the rest of the world.
The Premier was speaking in Pietermaritzburg where he launched the massive rollout of Operation Vula Fund disbursements.
As part of the launch, the Premier handed over various equipment to successful applicants from the uMgungundlovu district.
Equipment handed over included catering equipment, vehicles, computers, and farming implements.
The Premier warned that beneficiaries are not allowed to sell the equipment. In the event that a business collapses the equipment will have to be returned to the government.
Over the next few weeks, the Premier and members of the provincial executive council (MECs) will visit various districts to handover equipment and business instruments to enterprises who had successfully applied for Operation Vula Fund support.
“We will disburse equipment with a combined value of R300 million to more than 1000 SMMEs who have been selected as successful applicants. To date we have approved a total 1021 applications with a value of R299 157 million. Of these successful applications, 923 were in Tier One which disbursed equipment and instruments not exceeding R200 000. In Tier Two there were 11 successful applications where equipment disbursed ranges between R200 000 and R500 000. There were 87 successful applicants in Tier 3 which disbursed instruments whose value ranges from R500 000 up to R2 million,” said Premier Zikalala
The disbursements of Operation Vula Fund equipment will serve as a major boost to the province’s job creation and economic recovery efforts.
Premier Zikalala said the projection was that the Operation Vula Fund disbursements will help create and sustain no less than 10 816 jobs.
MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay echoed the Premier’s sentiments saying SMMEs have a critical role to play in the creation of jobs.
“In developed countries, up to 80% of the jobs are created by SMMES so this task that the beneficiaries have is a critical one for the future of our province and our country”.
MEC Pillay stressed that the department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs will monitor progress and offer support to the beneficiaries.
“As a department we will want to come and visit you to see how you are doing. Firstly, we will want to see that the machinery is there and is being used for the purpose for which it was requested. Secondly we want to see how you are developing to become a successful enterprise. We will look at the operational side, the financial management side and also access to markets”.
The Premier said of the successful applicants at least 42% are businesses owned by young people under the age or 35 while 49.5% are women-owned.
Both the Premier and the MEC stressed that applicants who were unsuccesful will be contacted and will be assisted with improving on those areas that led to their applocations being unsuccessful.