Cabinet has approved the Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap) 2016/17 to 2018/19, which seeks to achieve a higher-impact industrial policy in difficult economic circumstances, including the difficulties faced by the domestic steel industry and the drought which has impacted on the agriculture sector.
The Ipap is a key pillar of President Jacob Zuma’s nine-point plan and contributes to the implementation of the National Development Plan.
Achievements from the previous year included the saving of about 67 000 jobs and the creation of an estimated 7 000 new decent jobs in the clothing and textile leather and footwear sector.
The agroprocessing subsector was one of the largest domestic manufacturing sectors by employment, providing an estimated 216 090 jobs in 2015 compared with 208 822 jobs in 2014.
Over R600-million worth of investment was attracted in 2015/16, laying the basis for strengthening enterprise development with a focus on rural communities.