COVID-19 – The responsible SA Business Response

[ians]

Fact:

If you require support as an SMME.

you go to http://www.smmesa.gov.za/

The link is like everything else in SA ...broken lets hope they can fix it and be responsible like other countries like Australia who have already paid out people who have applied for support.

Rumour:

They are only going to support 51 % black owned companies ...please tell me this rumour is false.

[adrianh]

I am getting fake Standard Bank mail about the Covid Virus relief with links to sign up - THE LINKS ARE FAKE

DO NOT OPEN ANYTHING FROM STANDARD BANK RELATED TO THIS!!!!!!!!

This is the content of the FAKE mail

STANDARD BANK APPROVED COVID-19 FINANCIAL RELIEF MEASURES REWARDS FOR ALL CUSTOMERS
Written by Standard Bank Staff Reporter on 24 Mar 2020 18:21

Good day,

According to the bank, the rewards payment relief for the bank’s customers with a turnover of less than R200 million will commence on 1 April 2020 and run through to end June 2020.

“The relief will come from capitalising the interest and fees typically paid to the bank each month and changing the terms of repayment to a later date and be free to active your Rewards now,” Standard Bank South Africa chief executive, Lungisa Fuzile.

Fuzile further adds that all customers will earn rewards on all transaction and the studying full time with a Standard Bank Student Loan will receive a payment holiday over the same period at 0% interest and with zero fees.

“It is our responsibility to ensure we look at solutions to assist our customers during this challenging economic period, and we continue to work closely with the South African Reserve Bank to find ways to partner in the best interests of all our stakeholders.”

The bank request all other customers to contact the bank to indicate their circumstances and . It says assistance from the bank will also include options to defer payment for an agreed period and the opportunity to restructure and consolidate the overall debt.

Attached is your Standard Bank Cheque account showing 20% relief rewards on all recent Transactions Ref#19-Relief-MZU78RCUQ. To view it you will need to open the PDF attachment and insert your password. Your password is your Cheque account number.

To view your statement on relief rewards you need to have Adobe PDF Reader installed. If you do not have it, you will need to do the following:

- Copy and paste this URL into your browser: XXXX
- Go to the website
- Click the download button and follow the easy instructions.
Stay informed about coronavirus

You are welcome to contact us, should you require further assistance.

Regards,
Standard Bank

[Derlyn]

Just read the Categorisation of Essential Services during lockdown as gazetted.

Regulation 11A

B6: Electricity, water, gas and fuel production, supply and maintenance.


Does the above mean that if I am called out for a main breaker tripping, will it be illegal for me as a registered and licensed electrician to get into my car to go and assist ?


Derek

[ians]

Do you think there is going to be a an interest rate reduction.

[ians]

Just read the Categorisation of Essential Services during lockdown as gazetted.

Regulation 11A

B6: Electricity, water, gas and fuel production, supply and maintenance.


Does the above mean that if I am called out for a main breaker tripping, will it be illegal for me as a registered and licensed electrician to get into my car to go and assist ?


Derek

I dont think anyone actually knows what is going to happen... just dont walk your dog down the road.

[ians]

If you are out of funds and need to make a few bob ...now would be a good time to offer a delivery service for essential items ...or a bread and milk delivery service.

[ians]

it seems the www.smmesa.co.za is "PARKED" registered on behalf of a client.

[Dave A]

You need to go to https://smmesa.gov.za/ - the secure protocol.

The website seems rather pointless though

[Greig Whitton]

The Department of Small Business Development's communication re the SME relief fund has been absolutely abysmal, which is par for the course. Here are key details in the public domain:

1. The funding will be allocated to three distinct segments:

- SMEs that supply hygiene or medical products directly relevant to COVID-19.
- Deferments for SMEs funded by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA).
- SMEs that are in distress as a direct result of COVID-19.

Clearly the third of these will have the broadest relevance, but it's unclear how much of the total budget will be allocated to each segment.

2. The funding will be structured as a low interest loan (prime less 5%). It will not be a non-repayable grant or subsidy.

3. Anyone can apply to the fund, not just black-owned SMES.

There is, however, circumstantial evidence that the DSBD's original intent was to limit the fund to black entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the DSBD has a heavy bias towards startups, informal enterprises, as well as rural, youth, and women entrepreneurs. So I doubt applications will be assessed equitably.

4. The DSBD's turnaround time is 42 - 78 hours.

This is highly unlikely. I've been told by contacts within the DSBD that applications will be processed by a Small Enterprise Finance Agency task force consisting of a dozen people working remotely from home.

A single task team member won't process more than a few dozen applications per day (and even that is an incredibly optimistic estimate if the track record of the DSBD and SEFA for other funding programs is anything to go by).

Based on all of this, and my 10+ years of working with government funding agencies (including the DSBD), I think it is very unlikely that many SMEs will benefit from the fund (or benefit soon enough to make a difference).

I hope I'm wrong.

[ians]

In other words best you get an essential service certificate and get out there and make some money.

[Blurock]

Do not hold your breath to get any assistance from government. They are bankrupt and will have a hard time bailing themselves out of the mess they made of this country.
The red tape and bias will make it almost impossible.

[ians]

Fact:

All systems go ...it seems the government sites are up and running.

Applied for financial assistance on the SMME platform ...lets see what happens.

Now i just need to find out how to go about making sure my staff can get uif or if the smme will assist with funding.

[Derlyn]

Fact:

All systems go ...it seems the government sites are up and running.

Applied for financial assistance on the SMME platform ...lets see what happens.

Now i just need to find out how to go about making sure my staff can get uif or if the smme will assist with funding.

If this lockdown does not go beyond 5 months then my family and that of my assistant will be ok financially.
After that, we already have plan B in place and that will start after 4 months of lockdown.
It will not be business as usual, but we will be ok.

Cheers and peace out ... Derek

[ians]

So what are we looking at here...

Most of us have bills to pay... some just bonds ...some credit card debit ...overdrafts ... vehicle HP...there are a few who have something put away for a rainy day ...but i doubt there are many ... i alway know when the economy is in shyte ...i have reps from various companies contacting me to find out if i need anything... when times are good ...they dont answer the phone.... i have been getting a lot of calls from sales reps... i just wish companies would offer better discounts if they dont have to allocate a rep to you.

Is there anyone who can offer advise on a way forward ... the best route to take ...

do we take the payment holidays ...

do we go the smme route (anyone know what the interest rate will be)

do we increase our overdrafts and pay ridiculous interest.

do we increase our credit card limits which will result in the basically paying the interest until you can pay off the debt.

take a second bond to get through this and pay those massive fees.

do we just not pay our bills and hope this virus screws everything up so bad that it wouldnt be worth while for the banks to try repossess your house or try take your car.

[GCE]

Hi

As an Electrical contractor we have the ECA and NBCEI making a plan to assist and access the funds from UIF as a bulk application.
As far as I know it is for all contractors registered with the council
Have a look at the link posted

https://ecasa.co.za/member-support/latest-updates-assisting-employers-and-employees-during-the-lockdown-1-04-2020/

I understand that UIF is open to doing bulk applications with employers organization/ bargaining councils on behalf of there members