LETTER: As long as Ebrahim Patel remains minister, enterprise cannot be set free
The worst kind of punishment has been meted out to the scrap metal industry in the form of the price preference system
Over the course of the past two weeks, Peter Bruce has crafted two well-considered columns relating to the steel industry and the heavy-handed regulatory approach of trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel (“Steel yourself for Ebrahim Patel’s price controls, a loser’s game (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/columnists/2021-02-10-peter-bruce-steel-yourself-for-ebrahim-patels-price-controls-a-losers-game/)”, February 10, and “Bend the knee and smite your rivals for an easy ride”, February 17).
He raises some key issues such as the government’s posture towards ArcelorMittal SA, the scrap metal industry and Patel’s “re-industrialisation” instinct to protect existing players on the ground...
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