Manufacturing industry body, the Manufacturing Circle, believes one-million new jobs could be created if the manufacturing sector’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) was restored.
The industry body briefed Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on its strategy to reverse the decline of the sector during a discussion with senior business executives last week.
“The Manufacturing Circle and the Finance Minister met in a spirit of mutual collaboration, sharing the priority to grow manufacturing and to reindustrialise our economy, as an important step in reversing recent ratings downgrades and boosting investment, economic growth and employment,” Manufacturing Circle chairperson André de Ruyter said.
He noted that Gigaba was briefed on the industry body’s current practical initiatives, which included the Vaal Triangle Rejuvenation Project and better training for middle management in manufacturing enterprises.
“Other areas of interest in our discussions were the tax and grant incentives offered by government, the need for government departments to better align their support measures for business and the role of public procurement,” he said.
He added that the Manufacturing Circle also voiced its support for measures to promote black industrialists and reviewed the two new government investment incentives for downstream steel and for agroprocessing.
“The meeting was held against a backdrop of concern over declining GDP, employment and business confidence,” he said.