SA 'rewards mediocrities'

Johannesburg - Small business is the future for job creation and not the expanded public works programme - but if the country wants to make it work, it should stop rewarding mediocrity.

This is according to international strategist Clem Sunter, who discussed the depth and seriousness of the recession in Sandton on Thursday.

"We need to start recognising the pockets of excellence in the country," he said. "If we dumb them down it will be a very bad move."

Sunter identified the South African Revenue Service and the Red Cross Hospital in Rondebosch as two of these pockets. He urged government to apply lessons from these institutions to improve service delivery in other underperforming departments.

According to Sunter, South Africa had suffered less than many of the developed nations in terms of the depth of its recession. However, it needed to take certain steps to make sure it "stayed in the premier league".

One of Sunter's key concerns is that South Africa is not trying to develop its own skills base.

Small business will trump public works

He pointed to the case of Johannesburg teenager Siyabulela Xuza. He had won several international science awards before he turned 20, and yet he received more media attention in the US and UK than in South Africa.

"In America they celebrate excellence, in South Africa we celebrate mediocrity," said Sunter.

Sunter said SA can tackle its high unemployment figures by assisting the growth of small businesses. He said government-funded public works programmes are not the best way to stimulate employment.

"We have never really treated our informal sector as a part of our economy," said Sunter. He added that many informal businesses were hugely successful, but their progress was stunted by a lack of financing which effectively capped their growth and ability to create jobs.

He argued that if bridging finance were made available to lift 20 000 businesses from the informal to the formal sector, almost 400 000 jobs could be created.

- Fin24.com