The Business Bill 2013 in South Africa - Department of Trade and Industry

With respect to the Trade and Industry Department and Minister (Dr Rob Davies)

I am always positive in regards to my outlook – which is one of the reasons why, I might have found great opportunities, but there are moments in time when things are need to be said,
As you may know or may not know the Minister of Trade and Industry in S.A(Dr Rob Davies) has drafted the “Licensing of Businesses Bill 2013”

A business is an organizational or a brand that had an entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs that saw a gap/opportunity in the market and the Industry and seized/leveraged the opportunity via its products and services,

In the Draft it is said:

 “the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil, the right of every citizen to choose their trade, occupation or profession and all rights in the Bill of rights which is the cornerstone of democracy in the Republic;

Provided impartially, fairly, equitably, and without bias;

AND IN ORDER TO-

Promote a culture of transparency and accountability in public bodies through legislative commands to ensure participation by every citizen in trade, occupation or profession,”

But with respect to the Trade and Industry Department and Minister(Dr Rob Davies) – the Draft goes against the constitution and probably grossly violates the rights of individuals that the constitution values 

The perception of the outlook is;

Is for Businesses/Brands/Organizations to apply for a licence for the privilege of operating in business, the licence is valid for a term of five years

The Department of Trade & Industry has tabled the Draft Licencing of Businesses Bill. The bill proposes that all businesses in the country, whether formal or informal, register with and obtain a licence from their local municipality. It's being sold by the department as a means to curb illegal business activity. Minister Rob Davies says that government wants an easy, simple straightforward process for legal business activities

I am passionate about Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship, and I aspire to be the Leader in those fore-mentioned fields in Durban, the in S.A and the World,

This “Licencing of Businesses Bill 2013” is a waste of time and effort and resources, which is a short term approach to say the least and also a mere duplication of registering a Business and makes compliance even more harder for the small business owner – the actual purpose of the act is in conflict with its purpose in its entirety;

·         The pricing for the Business Licence is not mentioned in the Draft,

·         The Inspector aspect is not clearly defined so it is board
·         Can the Local Municipality protect the sensitivity information in regards to the business and the entrepreneur?
·         The application the process of the acquiring a Business Licencing – the documents that are required?
·         Did the period of 30 days for submission for comments including weekends (Saturdays and Sundays)?
·         What happens if the Municipality makes a mistake? Whom does the onus falls onto?
·         Accountability – if the is a dispute with the resolution forum – it is said that the person can approach any other dispute resolution forum – but do the other resolution forums have the influence to listen to the situation and influence the situation accordingly?
·         The minimum and maximum amounts of the fines?
·         What if extortion and intimidation arises? How will this be prevented and What mechanisms are in place to leverage this risk
·         Does the Local Municipalities have the Resources, the time and the Individuals to manage and lead this process from start to completion?
·         With Great Power comes even Greater Responsibility, is anyone able to provide a guarantee that there would not be any abuse of this system?
·         The Duration (Time Period) – How long will it take for a Business to acquire its licence via this system?
·         Is the Pricing of the System for an Application going to a flat/standard rate across the provinces?

So basically one would have to register the business, then apply to operate the business in their municipality - which complicates the business operations and increases costs to the smaller business and then you must wait for a few months to acquire the licence – but if a business is not operating how is it going to cover its input costs while awaiting for its licence 

A hawker as mentioned in the document must pay for a business licence – I mean really now – the individual is probably trying to earn a living with dignity - so basically for the hawker even if they have no food, they must have a business licence to have the privilege to operate a business,

Here is the Download Link - http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=186459

Kindest Regards

Kash