Category: English

Source: South Africa News Agency

The Eastern Cape Provincial Government has made strides in empowering young entrepreneurs, through the Isiqalo Youth Fund, an initiative that is aimed to support legally registered, youth-owned businesses across the province.

The fund is part of a broader strategy to foster youth development, promote entrepreneurship, and create sustainable employment opportunities in the province.

Launched in June 2019, the fund forms part of a broader provincial strategy aimed at fostering youth development, promoting entrepreneurship, and creating sustainable employment opportunities.

The fund provides both financial and non-financial support to businesses that are still in the early stages of growth.

To ensure accessibility, the Office of the Premier opens an annual application window, allowing young entrepreneurs to submit their proposals via a dedicated online portal. The call for applications is widely publicised through official websites, social media platforms, and municipal public notice boards across the province.

According to the provincial government, the initiative has already yielded tangible impact, with a total of 82 youth-owned businesses having been approved for support through the Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Programme during the previous term.

Of these, 22 enterprises have received funding, with over R12 million disbursed. The remaining 60 entrepreneurs have been identified in the programme pipeline and are scheduled to receive financial support during the current financial year.

“In addition to financial support, the initiative will offer business development training, mentorship, and market linkage facilitation to help improve the sustainability and growth potential of the supported enterprises,” the provincial government said.

Efforts are also underway to strengthen monitoring and evaluation mechanism to better track the impact of the fund and enhance accountability.

Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, highlighted the province’s commitment to expand the reach and impact of the programme through deeper collaboration with financial institutions and private sector partners.

He added that public awareness campaigns will be intensified to ensure that more young people are informed about the fund and can benefit from the initiative.

“Isiqalo Youth Fund is not just about disbursing money, it is about building a new generation of confident, capable entrepreneurs who can transform their communities.

“Young business owners across the Eastern Cape are urged to stay informed about future application windows, by following updates on official government platforms,” Mabuyane said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South Africa News Agency

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Source: South Africa News Agency

Public Works Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala has, during a media briefing on Tuesday, set the record straight regarding the appointment of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) Chief Executive Officer, Tebogo Malaka.

The Deputy Minister said he had noted with “deep concern” media articles which appear to have been deliberately planted and arranged to defame and tarnish his image, disguised as concerns about issues of governance in the IDT.

The IDT is a Schedule 2 State-owned entity, which manages the implementation and delivery of critically needed social infrastructure programmes on behalf of government. It reports to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, who is the shareholder representative.

Addressing the media in Pretoria, the Deputy Minister explained that when he was appointed as Minister in March 2023, the appointment of the CEO had already been processed by the IDT Board with the concurrence received from his predecessor.

He said the recommendation to appoint Malaka as CEO had already been submitted to Cabinet for final processing when he joined the department.

“As the Minister, I withdrew the matter due issues that were emerging at the time about the entity and had to deal with the issues of due diligence,” Zikalala said.

He added that also informing his decision to withdraw the matter were allegations related to the office lease at the IDT, which was an issue that had been in the public domain long before his arrival in the department.

“I had to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. During the period of my arrival at the department, I found the IDT plagued by challenges and infighting among the board members, which defocussed the entity from its primary mandate of delivering social infrastructure to communities,” Zikalala said.

According to the Deputy Minister, at the time of his appointment as Minister, there were serious concerns about governance affairs of the IDT.

“As Minister at the time, I held a number of meetings to refocus the board to its governance and fiduciary duties, these efforts to focus the board on governance issues did not yield expected results. 

“I am the first Minister to task the board of the IDT to investigate the matter of the office lease and to give a report after six months,” Zikalala said. 

The Minister said he was committed to serving with integrity, transparency and accountability. – SAnews.gov.za