Bid to save metals and engineering industry
The metals and engineering sector has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs since the global financial crisis and was also one of the first in SA to feel the destructive machinations of the Gupta family
SA needs a “national deal” to resolve issues around technology disruption, concerns over state capture and the concentration of productive assets that suffocates competition. Economic development minister Ebrahim Patel says this must lead to broad-based economic transformation, integrity of governance and the inclusion of the rural and urban unemployed. “Step by step we are putting legal and policy procurement in place to grow local manufacturing,” Patel says. The process, headds, needs careful monitoring, as it is only as strong as the level of compliance. Patel added that the provision of Industrial Development Corp (IDC) funding to SA industry has been vital in sustaining the sector during the years following the global financial crisis. Total manufacturing in SA contributes about 13% of GDP. The state-mandated national development finance institution sits within Patel’s ministry. The minister has also set up the R1.5bn steel industry competitiveness fund, to help protect the ...
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