Political blindness: claiming credit before checking reality

The research paper examines the Red Door initiative, an $18 million training programme in the Western Cape, South Africa, designed to support micro-entrepreneurs. It argues that the project prioritises political 'puffery' and input metrics—such as the number of visitors—over actual outcomes and sustainable job creation. Critics and managers suggest the current training is too rudimentary and lacks the mentorship and practical experience necessary to help entrepreneurs successfully win tenders or scale their businesses.

• The Red Door initiative, an $18 million programme in the Western Cape, aims to create 20,000 'micro survivalist businesspeople' and 60,000 employees through a network of offices, with a target to expand from nine to 35 offices over three years.
• Internal staff and external experts describe the programme's claims as 'political puffery', noting that the training is superficial, consisting of only three modules and a few hours of basic business knowledge without follow-through.
• Critics argue that the programme focuses on 'meaningless' input metrics—the number of people entering the office—rather than measuring how many people actually secure work, and that consultants lack practical business ownership experience.
• Red Door managers have advocated for a shift toward a genuine mentorship model where trainees are assigned a 'navigator' to guide them through a broadened training programme and the process of winning tenders and sourcing funds from the Department of Trade and Industry.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2005). Political blindness: claiming credit before checking reality. https://saiia.org.za/research/political-blindness-claiming-credit-before-checking-reality/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Political blindness: claiming credit before checking reality. 2005. https://saiia.org.za/research/political-blindness-claiming-credit-before-checking-reality/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Political blindness: claiming credit before checking reality |date=24 December 2005 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/political-blindness-claiming-credit-before-checking-reality/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2005political, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Political blindness: claiming credit before checking reality}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2005}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/political-blindness-claiming-credit-before-checking-reality/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }