Event offers solutions to red tape

The Western Cape government and the private sector have made several efforts to reduce the burden of red tape that faces small businesses, but more needs to be done, says Western Cape MEC for Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde.

Speaking at a two-day conference held in September by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to address red tape, Winde said the use of technology was one way government departments and agencies could cut red tape.

He recalled a recent visit to the walk-in centre at the Department of Transport and Public Works where he was introduced to a faster and simpler process.

“I was advised to make use of an installed electronic menu of services the department offers. I selected one after which I was quickly attended to and before I knew it, I was out of there within 15 minutes,” he says, adding that he preferred to see this being done at every public institution in the near future.

The conference forms part of Winde’s department’s Red Tape Reduction Programme and follows the success of the first Red Tape Reduction Awards held in April which honoured public servants who had made an effort to assist business owners to overcome red tape issues.

Peter Noble, client services manager at the Eden Municipality, agrees that as a start, the event provided him and many others the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to remove barriers that limit services to the public.

Gugulethu Business Forum’s executive member Princess Bavu says business owners operating in townships may benefit more if they approached the government to not only express their concerns, but work with the institutions to suggest solutions to red tape.

“This is how we as a forum will be able to convince our members to collaborate with both the state as well as private institutions to ease red tape,” she says.

•  Visit www.westerncape.gov.za/redtapereduction for more information.