Alderman James Vos Mayoral Committee Member Economic Opportunities and Asset Management (Portfolio includes: Enterprise & Investment, Economic Development, Tourism, Property Management, Strategic Assets, Fleet Management and Facilities Management)

T: +27 21 400 1166 M: +27 76 277 3351 E: [email protected]

Date: 7 April 2020

To: The President of , Mr Cyril Ramaphosa By: Email Copy to: Executive Mayor of the City of ,

REQUEST TO BROADEN THE CRITERIA FOR SMMEs TO QUALIFY FOR COVID-19 EMERGENCY FUNDING

Dear Honourable President

I write to you with the approval of the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Dan Plato.

I would like to thank you for the exemplary leadership you have shown in very difficult circumstances, to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the country. Your call for all South Africans to unite, to set aside our political, economic and social differences and combat this threat collectively, is very welcomed and fully supported.

The is fully committed to implementing the measures you announced and to ensure that we protect the health and economic welfare of all our people.

Indeed, in communication with several members of your Cabinet, including the Ministers of Tourism, Trade and Industry, and Small Business Development, I have repeatedly offered our support, through my Department of Enterprise and Investment, in administering the economic relief measures announced, and remain committed to doing so should it be required.

In these letters (attached) I sought clarity on the criteria to be applied for those seeking relief funding and subsequently, to argue for and request that the criteria be expanded.

In your address to the nation on 23rd March 2020, you stated that:

“Our country finds itself confronted not only by a virus that has infected more than a quarter of a million people across the globe, but also by the prospects of a very deep economic recession that will cause businesses to close and many people to lose their jobs.

Therefore, as we marshal our every resource and our every energy to fight this epidemic, working together with business, we are putting in place measures to mitigate the economic impact both of this disease and of our economic response to it.

CIVIC CENTRE IZIKO LOLUNTU BURGERSENTRUM 12 HERTZOG BOULEVARD CAPE TOWN 8001 P O BOX 298 CAPE TOWN 8000 www.capetown.gov.za Making progress possible. Together. 2

We are today announcing a set of interventions that will help to cushion our society from these economic difficulties.”

I welcome the commitment to provide much needed relief through various funds and mechanisms, as the economic impact of these measures, however necessary, has already had a devastating effect on job security and the survival of SMMEs.

I am concerned, however, that in our collective haste to implement protective and preventative measures as well as economic support, the finer details of the implementation have not been consulted widely enough to prevent grave unintended consequences.

Cases in point include small businesses which are not registered with the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) as well as those not meeting the qualifying criteria geared towards Affirmative Action and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.

I have spoken with numerous small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) who do not qualify for relief funding and who desperately need help to remain open, support their staff, and get back to business once the lockdown is lifted.

I therefore implore you to broaden the criteria for relief funding to make it easier for all SMMEs to apply and benefit.

By working together, we can weather this storm but only if we bring as many businesses as possible along with us so that there is something left to salvage once we emerge from this crisis.

The City of Cape Town remains committed to work with you and all spheres of government in the best interests of our citizens.

I look forward to your response and thank you in advance.

Kind regards

Alderman James Vos Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management

CIVIC CENTRE IZIKO LOLUNTU BURGERSENTRUM 12 HERTZOG BOULEVARD CAPE TOWN 8001 P O BOX 298 CAPE TOWN 8000 www.capetown.gov.za Making progress possible. Together.