Parliament welcomes launch of Tourism Equity Fund

27 January 2021

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, Ms Violet Siwela, has welcomed the launch of the Tourism Equity Fund by the Minister of Small Business Development.

The fund will be administered by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) and will go a long way in assisting the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the tourism sector.

“We believe that this fund is a good initiative by the Department of Small Business Development to bolster the tourism sector, as it has been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The committee has always held a view that financial and non-financial support to the SMMEs by government should be industry-specific in order to address the felt need in a particular sector,” said MsSiwela.

MsSiwela called on Sefa’s management team to roll out a mass communication campaign in partnership with provincial, district and local governments in order to ensure that all SMMEs in the tourism sector get the information. She believes that the fund can only serve its purpose when all small business owners in the sector benefit from it.

“The committee will find a slot to invite both the department and Sefa to present their plans to implement the fund,” said MsSiwela.

Issued by Justice Molafo, Media Officer, Parliamentary Communications, 27 January 2021