Windhoek
Government should act as responsible procurers of goods and services from SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and should address decent work deficits in SMEs, such as constraints to the exercise of the fundamental rights of workers to achieve better working conditions.
According to Alphäus Muheua, Deputy Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation: “Our government and other big companies must buy and exhaust all locally available goods and services before they look elsewhere, provided that these goods and services are of good and comparable quality and standard.” Muheua said this during an SME Conference in the capital yesterday.
The meeting, organised by the Academy of Business English, took place under the theme ‘Breaking all the barriers towards SME Development’. He noted that these suggestions stem from the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where SMEs were discussed as one of the six agenda items of the conference under the theme ‘Small and Medium Enterprises and Decent and Productive Employment Creation’.
Muehua added that unemployment, especially among the youth, remains high, while poverty is rampant and income inequality is still at unacceptable levels. According to the latest labour force survey report, the unemployment rate stands at 28.1 percent, a slight decrease from the previous figure of 29.6 percent. Muehua commented that this situation calls for better strategies to accelerate the pace of finding a lasting solution to these problems. “I believe one of the strategies should be the support for the development of SMEs,” he said.
“It’s a known fact that most of our people are employed and operate in SMEs. Also, it an equally known fact that the SMEs have the potential to grow and create more jobs for our people, compared to large firms. The sad and sorry situation is that at the same time SMEs are where most decent work deficits are present. Work in the SMEs is characterised as dangerous, degrading and dirty,” Muehua said.
He remarked that government at Independence recognised the role that SMEs can play in the growth of the economy and reducing the high levels of unemployment, poverty and income inequality. For this reason, government tasked the then Ministry of Trade and Industry to promote the development of SMEs in Namibia.
“After 25 years of independence, the government has realised that SMEs are still faced with many challenges that hamper them to grow and fully contribute to our economy, such as lack of access to affordable finance, lack of skills, lack of markets for their goods and services, lack of social protection and poor occupational safety and health. Therefore, the new government found it necessary to establish a ministry responsible solely for SME development,” noted Muehua.
Other suggestions that stem from the International Labour Conference include improving SMEs’ access to finance through measures, such as loan guarantees, start-up grants, facilitation of crowd-funding or group funding, sector-specific financial institutions, improved financial literacy or improved financial inclusion as part of policies for the formalisation of micro-and small enterprises, as well as the development of well-designed SME policies in line with national circumstances to help create more and better jobs and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
“The SMEs policies should align with sound macroeconomic policies and strategies aimed at improving enforcement and compliance, education and skills policies and promotion of social dialogue, freedom of association, collective bargaining and social protection. The government should create and improve an enabling environment for the promotion of sustainable SMEs and decent work”, added Muheua.