A coalition of business and civic organisations has called for the immediate shutdown of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), declaring it a failed institution and urging a boycott of an upcoming government-led economic summit.
In a strongly worded statement on Monday, Black Business Unity (BBU) and allied civic movements said they had “lost all confidence in state organs” tasked with supporting small businesses and township economies, accusing them of systemic failure without consequence.
The group rejected the planned 2026 National Local Economic Development Summit outright, describing it as “another talk shop” that continues a pattern of “talk without implementation, commitments without accountability, and policy without impact”.
The BBU demand is a call to close the DSBD in its current form, with the group arguing that the department has “demonstrably failed in its mandate” to support small businesses, particularly in townships and rural areas.
The statement alleges that billions of rands have been allocated to small business programmes “with little visible impact”, while grassroots entrepreneurs remain excluded and informal sectors continue to operate without meaningful support.
The coalition also demanded full public disclosure of all beneficiaries of DSBD funding, including amounts received, selection criteria and geographic distribution, warning that “no transparency” means “no legitimacy”. It further called for an end to what it describes as wasteful expenditure on conferences and summits, arguing that public funds should instead be directed toward direct support for businesses.
The group framed its intervention as part of a broader critique of the state’s economic support structures, saying institutions meant to enable growth have become “administrative barriers” that exclude township and informal economies.
“Township and informal economies continue to carry the weight of survival in this country,” the statement said, but they are undermined by weak enforcement, illicit trade, and exclusion from funding systems.
BBU said it would mobilise a national campaign against what it called ineffective state-led economic platforms.
“If the state cannot serve the people, it must be restructured or removed.”
Questions sent to Noko Manyelo at the department of small business were not answered.
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- A coalition of business and civic organizations demands the immediate closure of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD).
- The coalition labels the DSBD as a failed institution.
- They are urging a boycott of an upcoming government-led economic summit.
- The call highlights dissatisfaction with the DSBD's performance and impact on small businesses.
- Further details are available in the e-edition of Sunday World.
