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Zulu: Small business to drive radical transformation

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma will have to encourage South Africans to become entrepreneurs in his State of the Nation Address, small business minister Lindiwe Zulu said at parliament on Thursday.

"The president will have to encourage South Africans to make sure that they become entrepreneurs because the economy is not doing very well," Zulu told Fin24 on the red carpet before the SONA 2016.

Zulu said through small and medium enterprises SA would be assured of building the economy "but more than anything else (it's) about radical economic transformation".

In the push for "radical transformation with entrepreneurship" Zulu said she was looking for opportunities for small business in government and in the private sector.

Business leaders were spurred into action in December after Zuma fired the respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with unknown ANC MP David van Rooyen, sending the rand, stocks and debt plunging.

Zuma has since reappointed the respected Pravin Gordhan who headed the portfolio from 2009 to 2014.

Moody’s Investors Service cut the outlook on South Africa’s Baa2 credit rating, the second-lowest investment grade, to negative in December and fears now persist that South Africa's sovereign credit may be downgraded to junk status.

Zuma on Tuesday held a meeting with business leaders to seek their advice on ways to shore up the economy.

Zulu said her department was present and "made sure that the issue of small and medium enterprises was also on the agenda".


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