Township businesses hope for some love from election candidates

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandThe founder of the Township Economy Alliance, Bulelani Balabala. Picture: Supplied Story audio is generated using AI

As South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday, an advocate for township entrepreneurs says the often-neglected constituency will support parties and candidates committed to making business easier for them.

Bulelani Balabala, founder of the Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA), told Business Times this week that the biggest priority for entrepreneurs voting in the local government elections was the removal of barriers to doing business in townships.

“The No 1 thing that all the founders are looking for is they want an enabling environment to trade. And I think that’s really the government’s mandate,” he said.

TEA is holding a township economy summit in Tembisa, Gauteng, on November 19 and 20. Attendance is free, with details available on the TEA website.

Balabala said local governments should be changing bylaws to benefit entrepreneurs and business founders of all stripes.

“I think when you look at townships, you know, by and large these are areas and segments of our country that have been largely considered consumer-based markets. But this is where commerce happens; consumption and production happen.

“Look at things like the spaza shop fund, which was an epic fail. And the only reason it’s an epic fail is that the funders or the development funders are not taking a development view when they’re dispersing the money.”

Balabala said the TEA’s surveys among township entrepreneurs found that even though the market saw a widespread increase in the use of point-of-sale (POS) machines and POS devices, only 9% of these entrepreneurs confirmed that they actually have POS devices, while 95% expressed interest in them.

About 80% of the entrepreneurs mentioned the fact that there’s still a big infrastructural disparity in the various communities that they operate in

“About 80% of the entrepreneurs mentioned the fact that there’s still a big infrastructural disparity in the various communities that they operate in. Only 5% of the guys actually confirmed that they’re utilising AI tools effectively in the business.

“Only 24% of the guys effectively said they are using digital tools in general, not AI tools, just digital tools in general to optimise their business, apart from utilising them for social needs or social purposes individually.”

The township economy summit will host a “kasi pitching challenge”, in which the alliance will distribute about R150,000 to the top six pitchers. There will be an exhibition for corporates, government authorities and township businesses to showcase their products, goods and services.

Meanwhile, in its quarterly reform tracker released this past week, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) said governance reforms had declined for the first time, from 55.0 to 54.6, after the Constitutional Court declared the Public Procurement Act unconstitutional and invalid because parliament had not facilitated meaningful public participation at the National Council of Provinces stage.

“The sound finances score fell from 87.5 to 50, and National Treasury must now table a new bill. There was progress elsewhere. The Public Service Commission Act, signed on September 15 2026, will extend the commission’s oversight to local government, lifting that deliverable from 62.5 to 75, and the appointment of a director-general in the Presidency as head of public administration lifted the Public Service Amendment Act deliverable from 62.5 to 75.”

In last week’s medium-term budget policy statement, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced that, over the medium term, national departments will receive 47.4% of available non-interest spending, provinces 42.6% and local government 10%.

“Reaching a 10% share is a significant milestone. It reflects the government’s commitment to strengthen service delivery where citizens live, work and raise their families. We are allocating an additional R21.8bn to the local government equitable share, to cover the higher bulk costs of free basic water, sanitation, electricity and refuse removal.”

Godongwana said that since he suspended equitable share transfers to 69 municipalities that persistently failed to pay all creditors, 37 of them had concluded council-approved repayment plans by the end of July, and they had paid R4.2bn to creditors.

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