Small Medium and Micro Enterprises in South Africa were operating in the era of the apartheid regime but were not given enough support and were not a priority in the government of those days. Before democratic transition, the South African government was mainly giving attention to large businesses as well as state-owned enterprises. It was only in the late 1970s and the early 1980s that the South African government realised the importance of the small enterprise sector and its contribution to the countrys economy. The democratic regime of the early 1990s gave SMMEs an opportunity to participate in the South African economy. A White Paper of 1995 introduced the strategy to promote and develop SMMEs in South Africa and to design an SMME policy framework that will focus its attention on supporting and developing SMMEs. The aim was to enable SMMEs to grow as a way of creating a balance in the economy (away from state-owned and large enterprises) As a result, different support mechanisms have been implemented to support and develop SMMEs in the country since the democratic government took over in 1994. This paper evaluates the business support programmes that have been implemented in South Africa since 1994, specifically in the Free State Province for the development and support of SMMEs. In this respect, the paper compares and evaluates the ability of the business support programmes that have been put in place to develop and support SMMEs in order to grow and become sustainable. This is done by means of a brief overview of the international business support services and an assessment of the South African SMME policy environment. The study also conducted five structured interviews with the management representative of the five different business support programmes in the Free State Province. Some of the key findings indicate that not many SMMEs are aware of business support programmes in the Free State and are even less informed as to where to access finances. At the same time, it was found that staff responsible for business support programmes appears to be incompetent, and therefore, deliver poor quality services. From this study it can be concluded that of all the programmes the government-driven initiatives to develop and support SMMEs struggle the most to become operational. The business support programmes focused on markets to some degree, but seldom made it an inherent requirement. This paper recommends that there should be monitoring and evaluation systems available to document the quality of the service delivery to SMMEs in the Province, and to train the staff of the business support programmes to deliver high-quality services to entrepreneurs. The study compared five business support programmes in the Free State with regards to developing and supporting SMMEs in the province. As a result, the value of the findings might well be considered in terms of future provincial planning documents and policy.

Orientation: There is a continued call to understand those factors that not only affect work engagement but also reduce turnover. A broad umbrella of work emerges arguing for ascertaining how decent work conditions affect these outcomes of work.Research purpose: To offer insight into the relationship between decent work, job engagement and turnover intention in the retail sector in Zimbabwe.Motivations for the study: Rapid changes in the business environment have undoubtedly led to a deterioration of work standards across all sectors although the retail sector seems to have been more vulnerable and suffered the most. This calls for the need to investigate on decent work, a key mechanism in maximising labour force potential such as job engagement and turnover intentions are not ignored.Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a descriptive survey design using a quantitative approach. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for the purpose of analysis with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) utilised.Main findings: The study found a positive significant relationship between decent work and job engagement. A positive significant relationship was also established between job engagement and turnover intention whereas, a very weak and statistically insignificant relationship existed between decent work and turnover intention.Practical/managerial implications: Retail sector managers ought to prioritise decent work and pay closer attention to its impact on job engagement and turnover intention. A focus on these constructs will breed a highly engaged and committed workforce that will give the sector competitive advantage.Contribution: Very few studies have shed light on the construct of decent work in developing economies, and specifically in Zimbabwe. Decent work is critical in the realisation of the sustainable development goal (SDG) 8. Its correlation with job engagement and turnover intention brings to light quite invaluable insights to the management of human capital in the retail sector.

Objective: The paper explores the mediating effect of workplace social support on the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and employee mental health amongst public service employees in South Africa. Methods:A survey approach was utilized amongst a sample of 289 conveniently selected public service employees in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Results:The results confirm that a direct relationship exists between organizational citizenship behavior and employee mental health. Further, the association is made significant only through the mediation effect of workplace social support. Discussion:The study focuses on the importance of intra-organizational behaviors such as organizational citizenship in promoting employee mental health aspects. Such a focus becomes essential, especially when the South African public service is noted to be in a state of flux and often affects employee work behaviors, including their health. The findings heighten focus on the importance of developing behaviors such as those that promote organizational citizenship coupled with efforts related to workplace social support. In essence, by serving others within the workplace and the entire organization, employees contribute to their mental health. The findings are a valuable precursor to interventions that assist not only the organization but also employees.

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