1. National Small Business Amendment Bill
Presentation to Port Folio Committee on Trade and Industry
5 November 2004
Lionel October and Hlonela Lupuwana
Enterprise and Industry Development Division

2. National Small Business Amendment Bill Members’ comments
Members’ comments related to the following main areas of concern:
Governance
Composition of Board
Term of CEO
Accountability to stakeholders and beneficiaries
Clarifying the relationship with Provinces
National network
Provincial structures
Monitoring and Evaluation and Performance Management
Staff
Agency
Implementation of Government Policy
Mandatory requirements
Other

3. National Small Business Amendment Bill Governance
Constitution of Board and appointment of members of Board
11. (6) The Board must include –
(a) members who have experience in business;
(b) members who on account of their training and experience –
(i) are knowledgeable about trade, industry, finance or the economy; or
(ii) have legal knowledge; or
(iii) are knowledgeable in the management of a small enterprise.
(7) The Minister may prescribe any other criteria in respect of the appointment of members.

4. National Small Business Amendment Bill Governance
Termination of appointment of members of Board
13C.(1)The Minister may, in consultation with the Board, terminate the appointment of a member –
(g) If a member of the Board fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Board without having a valid explanation for his or her failure to do so.
Chief Executive Officer
13H. (2) Subject to this chapter, a person appointed in terms of subsection (1) holds office for a period not exceeding five years as specified in the letter of appointment, and is eligible for reappointment.

5. National Small Business Amendment Bill Accountability to stakeholders and beneficiaries
Conduct of meetings
13E. (6) The Board must at least once a year hold consultative meetings with stakeholders, beneficiaries and provincial representatives to discuss the activities and performance of the Agency.
Business plan
16. (2) The Business plan must –
(d) include a report on the consultation contemplated in section 13E (6) and the recommendations resulting from such consultations.

6. National Small Business Amendment Bill Clarifying the relationship with Provinces
Functions of Agency
10. (1) The Agency must –
design and implement a standard and common national delivery network that must uniformly apply throughout the Republic in respect of small enterprise development, integrating all government funded small enterprise support agencies across all tiers of government.
(d) Establish provincial structures to ensure the effective implementation of its functions as defined in this section.

7. National Small Business Amendment Bill Monitoring and Evaluation and Performance Management
Conduct of meetings
13E. (6) The Board must at least once a year hold consultative meetings with stakeholders, beneficiaries and provincial representatives to discuss the activities and performance of the Agency.
Business plan
16. (2) The business plan must –
(c) include an operational plan, a financial plan, a human resources and performance management plan as well as performance indicators for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation.

8. National Small Business Amendment Bill Implementation of Government Policy - Mandatory requirements
Functions of Agency
10. (1) The Agency must –
(a) implement the policy of the national government for small enterprise development

9. National Small Business Amendment Bill Other amendments
Restriction on the use of name
16C. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment, or to both a fine and imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years.
Short title
6. This Act is called the National Small Business Amendment Act [deleted: and comes into operation on a date determined by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.]
Amendments related to Numbering

10. National Small Business Amendment Bill Status quo
After consultation between the dti and the State Law Advisor it is proposed that the following sections remain unchanged
Sec 15(3) dealing with short term loans [p 8]
Necessary for operational purposes
Ministers of Trade and Industry and Finance to approve
Sec 16B dealing with limitation of liability [p 8]
Standard limitation clause
Applies only to civil liability, not criminal
Standard practice
South African Civil Aviation Authority Act, section 19
South African Maritime Authority Safety Act, section 46
Sec 3 dealing with regulations [p11]
Requested the dti legal unit to draft discussion paper on
Consultation process for the drafting of regulations
Purposes for which regulations are utilised
Parameters within which regulations are drafted

11. Thank you for your continued support