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Johannesburg - Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that are struggling to get payments from government departments and institutions can now dial a helpline to resolve their problems.
At a function in Pretoria on Monday Minister of Trade & Industry Rob Davies launched the new helpline, to be managed by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda).
Of the 760 government institutions that were contacted, 67% had already appointed dedicated officials to handle these enquiries.
Follow-up work will be done with the help of the department to get other institutions, mostly at local government level, also on board, said Seda chief executive Hlonela Lupuwana.
In terms of legislation, payments must be made to suppliers within 30 days. If not, SMMEs can approach the helpline. The aim is to have difficulties resolved within five working days.
The helpline, which will cost R5m-odd a year and be manned by 15 agents, will enable government to gather information about where bottlenecks occur and the extent of the problems, said Davies.
The helpline will be manned from 06:00 to 18:00 on weekdays, and an email address and after-hours fax number are available.
Contact the helpline at 0 0860 766 3729, fax number 012 452 0458, or visit the website at www.seda.org.za.
- Sake24.com
For more business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.