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In 2003 SMME sector could make or break SA

Although a short-term economic growth rate of 3 % is authoritively being forecasted for South Africa, some specific statistics point to a socio-economic calamity looming close by. The question is, what picture does statistics such as the following, quoted recently by the Poverty and Inequality Report, paint ? :
18 million South Africans are living on less than R350 a month and half of the population of the country lives on under R20 a day. In fact, the report says, 24 % of the people, numbering 12 million, live on less than R10 a day. An astounding 20 million live below the breadline, nearly 5 million have no income and about 3 million no shelter. Up to 70 % of children live in poverty.
So the socio-economic picture emerging from these figures, is one of the vast majority of South Africans living in abject poverty - by its very nature a situation conducive to revolution and political uprising. Furthermore: Despite the achievements of the post-1994 South Africa, the majority of citizens are worse off than eight years ago.

Answer
What is then the answer to this situation ? It's definitely not political slogans, but down to earth improvement of the lot of many people. How is that to happen? Well, the enterprise Proudly SA has found in a recent report that it is highly unlikely - probably impossible - that the 100 biggest companies in SA or the government sector will significantly employ more people. Therefore the only source in the country for job creation - and for the creation of livelihood, raising of standard of living and boosting of economic growth in general - is the SMME sector (small, medium and micro enterprises). It's up to this sector, irrespective of skin colour, to produce the solution. This in turn means that the SMME sector in SA must in 2003 urgently receive practical, effective, result-yielding support. Exactly how such support should be constituted, is the proverbial million dollar question, for which, however, there is here no room to debate. The point is that if such SMME support and development does not take place in 2003 in SA on a significant scale, this country is evidently heading for a catastrophy.

Aggravating factors
However, the situation is being aggravated by factors such as the following:
A record crime level putting a heavy clamp on spontaneous entrepreneurship and new investments. SA's murder rate of some 20 000 a year is the highest in the world, while a case such as the recent fatal shooting of a young farmer and businessman in his home near Bultfontein on a Sunday morning without anything being stolen, is completely and totally unacceptable.
The ravaging rate of HIV/Aids in SA, moving in the direction that by 2005 5 million citizens will be infected , while a million orphans will have to be cared for. How is such a burden on state resources to be carried ?
The under-skilledness of people in SA. In a globalising marketplace the fast changing need for echnologically-skilled people is beyond the grasp of many of the unemployed. Despite the National Skills Development Strategy, this a real problem calling for urgent redress.
In SA's neighbours in Southern Africa a human tragedy is looming, where 1,2 million tons of food are to be distributed by the UN Food Program over the next four months in order to save some 13 million people from immediate starvation.
Overly affirmative action: A study by the trade movement Solidarity is predicting that if planned affirmative action and legislation in SA is to be fully implemented, it would put some 1 million whites currently employed, out of work. Will that help or aggravate the central problem ?

Cherish the SMME sector
So cherishing the SMME sector in SA in 2003 - little short than looking after the golden goose that has to lay the eggs - seems indeed the crunch that could make or break SA.