The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) provides “no clearly categorised voice for small businesses. All decisions that impact them are taken by big businesses”.
Those who have access to Nedlac are the ones who protect centralised bargaining and whose decisions serve the interests of government and big business.
“If we believe in the potential of small businesses to create jobs then there should be a focus at Nedlac on the interests and needs of small businesses. Instead, they’re on the periphery. There’s no space for them to engage and be taken seriously.
” For those who do have that space, the concerns of small business are not a priority, he says. They’re largely excluded from the supply chains of corporates for whom procurement is a compliance issue, “not a strategic decision by the board to tap into SMEs as part of a broader strategy”.
“It’s not something that is front and centre for them as it should be if they’re looking at the bigger picture.”
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