Industry association the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has welcomed the recent launch by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) of South Africa’s new Industrial Development Strategy.

Seifsa says it supports the strategic intent of the document and welcomes renewed emphasis on industrialisation as a key lever for economic growth, employment creation and competitiveness.

The strategy, it contends, correctly recognises that a capable industrial base remains central to South Africa’s long-term economic resilience and developmental ambitions.

However, Seifsa believes a more consultative policy development process may have proved more useful, particularly with stakeholders in the metals and engineering sector.

The association highlights that effective industrial policy is strongest when shaped through structured engagement between government, industry, labour and other social partners. It adds that a strategy of this significance would achieve greater legitimacy and practical relevance when co-developed with the industries it seeks to support.

A further concern expressed by Seifsa is the relationship between the Industrial Development Strategy and existing sector masterplans, particularly the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan, with the association arguing that there is a conflation between the role of the masterplans and the new strategy.

“On the face of it, one might reasonably conclude that the Industrial Development Strategy is intended to replace the current masterplan architecture. However, this has not been explicitly clarified.

“This lack of clarity risks creating uncertainty regarding where industry should focus its engagement and where implementation efforts should be directed. This ambiguity is particularly evident when considering recent parliamentary processes, where industry stakeholders were convened under the framework of discussions relating to the Steel Master Plan.

“Such developments raise questions regarding the ongoing role, status and practical relevance of the masterplans within the context of the newly launched strategy," the association argues.

Seifsa believes the next phase must focus on unpacking the industrial strategy into practical sector-specific roadmaps, with clear implementation milestones and accountability mechanisms.

For the metals and engineering sector, the association says, this means focusing on core enablers of competitiveness such as affordable and reliable energy, logistics efficiency, infrastructure-led demand creation, effective trade measures, localisation, investment support and policy certainty.

Seifsa notes that the metals and engineering sector remains a foundational industry, enabling activity across mining, construction, energy, transport, manufacturing and infrastructure development.

As such, it concludes, policy affecting industrial development should benefit from direct input from this sector.