Statement by Henro Kruger MP – DA Spokesperson on Small Business Development:
The DA has launched a national petition to stop the Minister of Small Business Development’s draft Business Licensing Bill. If this Bill goes ahead, it will pile even more red tape onto small businesses and make it even harder for people to earn a living.
The DA does not believe your municipality has the right to decide whether you may start a business or not. That is not the constitutional role, mandate or power of a municipality, and it should never become one. The DA will oppose this strongly.
Small firms are already drowning in paperwork and compliance costs. Instead of fixing this, the Minister now wants every business to get yet another licence from municipalities that can’t reliably keep the water on or maintain basic roads. Handing them the power to decide who may operate a business will only create chaos.
We already have licences and checks where they are needed, such as food safety, occupational health, tax and labour requirements. Adding a new layer of bureaucracy won’t make South Africans safer; it will simply keep more people out of work.
People who want to start businesses and create jobs should not need to ask government for permission first. They should be supported, not blocked.
The DA is calling for this Bill to be withdrawn without delay.
If you run a small business, or if you’re simply worried about the impact this will have on job creation, your voice matters.
By signing the petition, you help strengthen the fight to protect informal traders, street vendors, and every entrepreneur trying to keep the economy moving.
Sign the petition here: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/jobs-not-permits