Provided by the DA
Dear Sir/Madam,
This serves as an invitation to comment on the tabling in Parliament of the DA-proposed Private Members Bill, introduced by MP Toby Chance, that is advocating for the establishment of a Small Enterprises Ombud Service to mediate disputes and resolve late payment issues between SMEs, government and private sector customers in order to save jobs.
The proposed Small Enterprises Ombudsman will be tasked with resolving disputes between an SME and clients such as government departments and large corporates in the private sector. The dispute resolution function of the Ombudsman will focus on contractual agreements, late or non-payment of amounts owed and payable within the 30 day window or any other agreed payment period.
This is a huge issue to countless small business owners and could be of considerable interest to your network and supplier base to know that Parliament is addressing it. As of December government and SOEs owed R7,7 billion in unpaid invoice, but the private sector and big business is equally at fault.
The Bill is open for public input, as an explanatory notice was gazetted on Friday 10th May. There is a 30 day window for comments and suggestions and the DA calls on all South Africans to submit their comments and input using the submission channels provided for in the explanatory memo of the PMB.
The Bill has been sent to the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development which will consider the bill and call for further comments and submissions, including oral submissions to the Committee. This process is expected to begin in August.
The DA is proudly endorses the Prompt Payment Code powered by the NSBC.