Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Fikile Majola says the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme will play a critical role in the implementation of South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

He was addressing members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour, on progress of the implementation of the SEZ and the Industrial Parks Revitalisation programmes which are both driven by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

“The SEZ programme is expected to play a significant role in supporting the implementation of the country’s economic and recovery plan. This is owing to the fact that the SEZ programme is at the core of the reimagined industrial strategy, which is purposefully structured to stimulate local and foreign direct investments.”

Majola added that the SEZs were also expected to play an important role in the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, as South Africa positions to become a vibrant manufacturing hub of the African continent.

However, he said the implementation process of the SEZ programme required collaborative efforts from all spheres of government to ensure that the roll-out of the programme was efficient, integrated and well coordinated.

“It is only through cooperation at national, provincial and local government levels that we can successfully build an inclusive economy.  Inter-governmental relations, both horizontally and vertically, are important in us achieving the set objectives of the reimagined industrial strategy. The efforts of pursuing a coordinated framework through the District Development Model approach have presented an opportunity for the creation of a balance ecosystem for an integrated development,” added Majola. 

He expressed his delight at the fact that the implementation of the new integrated approach of ensuring that national, provincial and local government work together and share responsibility for the implementation of the SEZ programme was bearing fruit. He said the Tshwane Automotive SEZ clearly illustrated the positive impact of the implementation of this approach.

MPs were also told that the value of private investments in the South African SEZs had increased by R1.8-billion from R17.7-billion in March 2019 to R19.5-billion in March 2020.

Meanwhile, Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour chairperson Mandla Rayi said the approach needed to be “competitively aggressive” and enhance performance of the SEZs and industrial parks. “The SEZs concept is a good model that has a potential to cushion vulnerable South Africans from an unstable job market. We need to aggressively incentivise companies and investors at the SEZs and offer benefits to potential investors.”
 
He added that the opportunity they offer should be backed up with vibrant and active industrial parks. “This means that sustainable interventions should be replicated, and are required.”
 
Rayi said the private sector should double its efforts in aiding economic recovery. The government had committed itself to do all it could to support the private sector through easing the cost of doing business and incentivising local manufacturing. 
 
He added that the SEZs should guard against being assembly points and that they ought to be meaningful partners and manufacturers of goods.