NEWLY appointed President
Cyril Ramaphosa will
ensure that government
departments pay suppliers
timeously, within the
requisite 30 days.
In his reply to the State
of the Nation debate, the
President said government
had received complaints
about the inability of
government departments
to pay suppliers within the
required 30 days.
He quoted a supplier who
posted on Facebook that
he had stood in queues for
days, only to get excuses
or no response at all. “My
business will create jobs, but
the government red tape is
stifling our entrepreneurship.
Please help,” the post reads.
“The frustration that
these entrepreneurs have
to endure at the hands
of the very state that is
supposed to assist them is
a matter of great concern,”
said the President. “This
is something that I want
to see addressed as I visit
government departments,
because the culture of late
payment has gone on for
far too long and has caused
far too much damage,
particularly to emerging
black businesses.”
The issue of late payments
has bedevilled the industry
for years, putting pressure
on agencies and TMCs
that handle government
business. Last year, two
government departments,
one of which was three years
behind in payment, were
ordered by a court to make
payment to Duma Travel.
At the time, founder and
ceo, Themba Mthombeni,
said he had had no option
but to take the matter to
court. “When you have
submitted invoices 10 times
and your suppliers are sitting
on your neck, what do you
do?”
