TOWNSHIP & RURAL ECONOMIES: DRAFT POLICY OUT FOR COMMENT

TOWNSHIP & RURAL ECONOMIES: DRAFT POLICY OUT FOR COMMENT

• 05 June 2026
• Small Business Development
• SA Legal Academy

The Department of Small Business Development has gazetted a draft policy on township and rural economy development and revitalisation – calling for input by 17 July 2026.

A ‘problem statement’ section of the document unpacking the myriad challenges facing the economies concerned gives context to the policy’s vision, which is:

• ‘a well co-ordinated support ecosystem’ for entrepreneurial and small enterprise development
• ‘vibrant …, thriving townships and rural economies integrated with the mainstream economy’, and
• improving the impact of township and rural economies on government’s ongoing efforts to alleviate poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Against that backdrop, among other things the problem statement refers to:

• unco-ordinated and fragmented intervention across all three spheres of government
• lack of clarity about the role of various stakeholders
• poor collaboration among role players
• regulatory barriers
• widespread non-compliance with legislative and policy obligations on the part of local government
• spatial planning limitations resulting in:
  • inadequate infrastructure, and
  • lack of access to facilities, buildings and commercial property
• limited access to:
  • digital connectivity
  • business development support
  • related research information and data, and
  • information about government incentives and programmes
• financial exclusion
• inadequate skills, and
• competition from shopping centres.

Reference is also made to:

• illegal foreign nationals
• trade in illicit and counterfeit goods
• crime, extortion and lawlessness, and
• the ‘high propensity of informality’.

Please click the link below for more information:

• draft policy

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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