your prosperity through partnership

27 March 2020 
 
COVID-19 SMME SA funding assistance 
 
Dear Valued Client 
 
We are here to help you apply for disaster relief funding.  
  
Our firm is ready to assist with all the following applications. Give us a call today so we can give you a quote.  
  
There are a range of support measures available that our firm can help you get access to: 
  
1. ​Funding through the Department of Small Business Development​ which can be accessed at ​http://smmesa.gov.za/​.  
To qualify, businesses must meet the SMME criteria as shown below. SMMEs are able to apply for financial or non-financial assistance in 
order to meet employee, supplier and overhead obligations. The qualifying criteria: 
  
● Turnover below R50 million for the previous financial year. 
● Business 100% South African owned. 
● 70% of employees employed by the business must be South African citizens. 
● Business must be tax compliant. 
  
Information supplied by the government indicates that funding of up to R500,000 is available and applications are likely to take up to 14 
days. Successful applications will be audited in the future and will have to have supporting documentation and invoices to show how the 
money was expended. Anyone failing the audit will have to repay the money at prime plus 10%. 
  
2. Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) Funding 
The requirements to access SEFA funding are the same as for SMME SA Funding, but is restricted to the following sectors: 
  
● Retail, wholesale and tourism industry 
● Production industry 
● Agriculture industry 
● Construction industry 
● Mining industry 
  
The Industrial Development Corporation will disburse and manage this fund. Please note that as with SMME funding, an audit will be 
carried out in future and those failing the audit will be required to repay the money at penalty interest rates. More information can be 
accessed at: ​https://www.sefa.org.za/ 
  
3. Accessing UIF benefits for employees 
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is to be utilised to make funds available to: 
  
● Companies that close their businesses during the lockdown, providing a flat amount equal to R3,500 per employee for the 
duration of the lockdown or a maximum of three months; 
● Reduced work time (in which case the UIF benefit is equivalent to the different between what the employer normally pays and the 
normal UIF benefits applicable) 
● Illness benefits (in which case affected employees are entitled to claim 1 credit day for every four days of work, up to a maximum 
of 365 days for every four years of completed work) 
● Death benefits payable to the beneficiaries of the decease (payable on the same basis as illness benefits mentioned above) 
 

Director: Contact and Address Membership and Accreditation:

NB Monye - BA (SA), TT (SA) 49 Nelson Mandela Drive Practice No: PR-0096155
Registered Accountant Mega Building, Mokopane SAIBA Membership No: SAIBA6592
Registered Tax Practitioner Limpopo, 0600 SAIT Membership No: 53512629
Accredited Assessor and Moderator SSETA Accreditation No: NMON636533856

T: 015 004 2619/076 945 9117

F: 086 535 8539
info@candidaccountants.co.za
www.ca​ndidaccountants.co.za

Candid Accountants (Proprietary) Limited t/a Candid Accountants and Bookkeepers

Co Registration No: 2014/223469/07 VAT No: 4550283701 1/2
 your prosperity through partnership

Application forms can be downloaded from the Department of Employment and Labour website:​ https://www.labour.gov.za​. 
  
4. The TERS programme (Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme)​ will be expanded and expedited – funded by the UIF to assist 
distressed companies in the form of subsidies to fund directly workers’ wages. One of the conditions is that the company embarks upon a 
turnaround or sustainability programme. TERS will be overseen by the CCMA (Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration). To 
obtain application forms and all relevant details, please send an email to: i​ nfoTERS@labour.gov.za​.  
  
If the CCMA finds that you do not fully follow the sustainability programme, penalties and repayment will be levied at punitive interest rates. 
  
5. Solidarity Fund 
This is a special fund created by the government and funded by both the private and public sectors (the Rupert and Oppenheimer families 
have agreed to contribute R1 billion each). Details of the fund are available at ​https://www.solidarityfund.co.za/​. 
  
It is not yet known how to apply for funding from this source. It is advised that you check daily at the above web address for more details. 
  
6. Compensation commissioner 
Any employee contracting the Covid-19 virus while employed by you (and not while at home) can apply for compensation under the 
Compensation Act. Please note that these applications must be made in person by the employee to the Compensation Commissioner's 
offices. More information can be accessed here: ​https://www.gov.za/services/compensation-fund/register-compensation-fund 
  
As your accountant, we can help with the administration behind these applications. We can assist you in accessing these funds. This is an 
add-on service to the usual accounting services we provide.  
  
Access to SMME SA Funding, Solidarity Fund or the SEFA Fund will require up-to-date: 
● financial statements 
● management statements and  
● financial forecasts for the next 12 months. 
 
7. ​Register as a company that provides essential services​. 
The regulations issued by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs provide for a form or certificate to be issued by 
companies who provide essential services to their workers, to be carried when travelling to and from work. We can assist your company to 
obtain this certificate.  
 
This will require fast work, so anyone seeking to access these funds must indicate so immediately. Understand also that there will be an 
avalanche of requests for funding, so the sooner you act, the better. 
  
We look forward to hearing from you. 
 
 
Kind regards, 
 
 
 
NKGOLO MONYE 
MOBILE: 0769459117 
EMAIL: nkgolomonye@candidaccountants.co.za 
 

Director: Contact and Address Membership and Accreditation:

NB Monye - BA (SA), TT (SA) 49 Nelson Mandela Drive Practice No: PR-0096155
Registered Accountant Mega Building, Mokopane SAIBA Membership No: SAIBA6592
Registered Tax Practitioner Limpopo, 0600 SAIT Membership No: 53512629
Accredited Assessor and Moderator SSETA Accreditation No: NMON636533856

T: 015 004 2619/076 945 9117

F: 086 535 8539
info@candidaccountants.co.za
www.ca​ndidaccountants.co.za

Candid Accountants (Proprietary) Limited t/a Candid Accountants and Bookkeepers

Co Registration No: 2014/223469/07 VAT No: 4550283701 2/2