Finance and Economic Opportunities
(1) Which municipalities have established these red tape reduction units (RTRUs) and (b) for each, (i) on what date was it established, (ii) who is the manager or head of the unit, (iii) what is the budget allocated by provincial government and (iv) from which programme or cost item is the funding provided;
(2) (a) what is the reporting format of these RTRUs (i) between units, (ii) to the municipalities where they operate from and (iii) to the Province;
(3) whether a copy of the service level agreement (SLA) or any contractual document that sets out this relationship can be made available;
(4) what are the (a) data of the cases each of these RTRUs have dealt with since their establishment, (b)(i) details and (ii) nature of these case, (c) response times to resolve these case, if they have been resolved, (d) reasons for cases not having been resolved and (e) contact details of the complainants in reference to the service received;
(5) whether the RTRUs dealt with any cases from the informal sector; if so, (a) what are the details of such cases per municipality and (b) where the RTRUs exist, how such cases were resolved?
Question 1-4
In November 2019, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism led by the Municipal Economic Support Unit as part of the Joint District Approach engaged municipalities on a one-on-one basis, specifically to discuss ease of doing business [EoDB] and the need for and possibilities of establishing red tape reduction units within municipalities.
The outcome of the discussions was that most municipalities lack the required resources [human and financial] and prefer to focus on basic service delivery and other economic support services to business [both formal and informal]. The consensus was that municipalities preferred an EoDB municipal support programme driven by the department.
As such, in 2021, the Department allocated R1m to the first round of the Municipal Ease of Doing Business Fund focusing on improving services relating to the construction and planning industry within Municipalities. Such interventions include:
1] Online Heritage Resource Inventory and Heritage Digital Tool;
2] Online Integrated Property Development Application Tool;
3] Expansion of a Building Control Module and Portal;
4] Electronic Building Control and Town Planning Geographical Information System.
Going forward, the Ease of Doing Business Programme has once more dedicated support and resources to support municipalities. During March 2022, the Department launched the R10m Municipal Ease of Doing Business Fund. In support of the recommendation as per the engagements with municipalities, funding will be allocated to interventions aimed at reducing the regulatory burden, improving business processes, and ensuring effective communication to businesses with the overall impact of improving the environment in which businesses operate.
Earlier this year the George Municipality requested direct support from the Ease of Doing Business Programme to identify interventions, resource requirements and processes that will help institutionalise an Ease of Doing Business approach with the objective of reducing red tape within the municipality. The unit is engaging ongoingly with the Municipality to provide the best type of support based on their needs. The George Municipality is being considered as a pilot site for a regulatory reform project.
It must be noted that making it easier to do business in the non-metro municipal areas is a priority of the unit and besides the R10 million allocated for this purpose we have already commenced engagements with 5 municipalities in order to work collaboratively in improving municipal institutional capacity in terms of regulatory reform and more efficient business facing services e.g., permitting. This forms part of our collaborative work with the South African Local Government Association [SALGA].
Question 5.
The Ease of Doing Business Programme, within the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, has a long standing and solid relationship with the South African Informal Traders Association [SAITA] which brings the requests and complaints of the informal sector to the attention of the programme, on a regular basis.. The unit also assisted SAITA directly with enquiries related to red tape challenges as part of the Business Support Helpline Service. The Business Support Helpline Service logs cases by citizens seeking assistance with red tape related challenges.
In 2021 during the COVID 19 pandemic, SAITA reached out to the Business Support Helpline Service to seek clarity on the latest directive from the Presidency regarding the suspension of Trading Permits in Municipalities. The Business Support Helpline Service actioned the request within the Red Tape Reduction Unit where a legal opinion from the Western Cape Government’s Legal Services was provided to SAITA. This direct assistance is one of the ways that the Programme has a link to the informal economy as part of reducing red tape challenges.
As per our records on the Case Management System, there have been 23 enquiries between 2017 and 2021 from the informal sector seeking assistance with individual red tape related challenges. All of these cases and enquiries have been resolved and closed. The nature of the cases were related to COVID-19 and seeking information regarding street trading permits, advice regarding the latest directives from the Presidency and business support.
The EoDB Programme continues to support all sectors of the economy as part of its efforts to remove red tape inhibitors in the form of ineffective regulation, business process improvements as well as communication.
