South Africa should consider a dedicated Red Tape Reduction Act. Such legislation would require government departments and municipalities to assess the impact of regulations on small businesses before imposing new requirements, argues the writer.
Jane Sithole
South Africa speaks often about supporting small businesses. We speak about funding, incubation, market access, township economies, youth entrepreneurship and job creation. All of these matter. But we often avoid the most painful truth: for many small businesses, the biggest burden is not only lack of finance. It is the cost of dealing with government.
Red tape has become the hidden tax on South Africa’s entrepreneurs.
It is paid not only in money, but in time, uncertainty, lost opportunities, delayed openings, failed applications, duplicated paperwork and endless visits to municipal offices. It is paid by the spaza shop owner who cannot get clarity on a trading permit. It is paid by the small manufacturer waiting months for land-use approval. It is paid by the restaurant owner who must comply with multiple overlapping requirements before opening their doors. It is paid by the informal trader who wants to become formal, but finds the process too confusing, too slow and too expensive.
