Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield: Trade, Industry and Competition Dept Budget Vote 2024/25, NCOP

Chairperson of the NCOP
Honourable Members
Minister Tau and Deputy Minister Godlimpi
The Director-General and senior officials of the dtic

As South Africa heralds a new and exciting era in her young democracy with the historic establishment of a Government of National Unity (GNU), the Department of Trade & Industry has a critical role in gearing for economic success and job creation by working hand in glove with Provinces to facilitate trade and investment by creating an enabling environment for growth.

In the wake of stagnant economic growth, high unemployment and the increased cost of living, our people have sent us a clear message and we dare not ignore them. They are hungry for economic opportunities, jobs, and a government that creates a conducive environment for business to flourish and people to prosper.

The GNU is committed to placing inclusive growth and job creation at the centre of government’s agenda. The National Development Plan (NDP) will remain a core guiding policy framework in our pursuit of growth and jobs. In addition, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, aligned to the NDP, will help to guide our new government, specifically Goal 8: “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”; and Goal 9: “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.”

Industrial Policy Industrial policy is placed as a central theme of the 7th administration. Improving the effectiveness of this industrial policy will be key to this administration’s success. We need to focus our interventions on those which grow exports, while targeting activities such as investment infrastructure and innovation. However, this is not the job of the dtic alone. In the spirit of working together outlined by the Minister, our department will be bold in developing a more transversal relationship between key partners and moving away from the silos that are holding us back. By investing in safety and security, building and maintaining infrastructure, and ensuring quality education and training for citizens, South Africa’s competitiveness will be improved, which will assist in making our exports more competitive in the global markets. I would add, that we need to strengthen key economic agencies and entities in our provinces in order to unlock their full potential to deliver the growth we need to create jobs.

To succeed it is also critical that we partner with the private sector to unlock deep pools of capital, benefit from their expertise, and ensure strong investment inflows into our economy. To do this we will focus on creating an enabling policy environment by identifying and extracting efficiencies within our existing processes while advocating for other departments to play their role in creating this enabling environment. the dtic remains committed to open and transparent engagement with the private sector that builds trust and fosters investment and growth.

Ultimately, ensuring that effective industrial policy remains consistent over time, will create a predictable business environment and certainty that encourages the private sector to increase its investment in the South African economy; in turn leading to real and sustainable job creation.

Export-Oriented Economy

Chairperson, one of the department’s key focus areas will be a renewed export drive to lower the risk of slow domestic growth, while also identifying high growth opportunities. Bolstering our international competitiveness and expanding export markets is key to South Africa’s economic recovery and growth trajectory. South Africa’s exports in May this year totalled over R178 billion. In addition, we recorded a trade surplus of over R20 billion, significantly higher than forecasts and the widest trade surplus in six months. This is commendable and highlights, with dedicated and pragmatic focus, the important contribution that exports can make to our fiscus.

South Africa must create an export-oriented economy. This can be realised with a dedicated focus on implementing measures to boost the competitiveness of local industries in global markets, streamlining export processes, lowering trade barriers, offering financial and technical assistance to exporters, and cultivating beneficial trade alliances with other nations.

In this regard, I joined the Minister in Washington last week for the AGOA forum where we stressed the importance of early renewal and strengthening AGOA to secure greater impact. The South African delegation of Business, Labour and Government were positively received with particular excitement around the Government of National Unity and our democracy’s resilience under pressure. The response to our visit bodes well for our relationship with Washington which we are committed to strengthening.

One anecdote from our trip which is relevant to this house is a conversation I had with a senior staff member from the US Trade Representative’s office who highlighted one of the great AGOA success stories in the Coega IDZ, an agro-processing business called Dynamic Commodities which employs 2000 people. My conversation with this gentleman highlighted the critical role that Provinces must play in creating an enabling environment for trade and investment but it also highlighted the vast potential of agro-processing in a province like the Eastern Cape.

Manufacturing Growth = Export Growth

Honourable Members, ultimately it is essential that South Africa’s economic growth is grounded in manufacturing-led growth. Manufacturing is indeed less volatile and less vulnerable to economic downturns and will create real, sustainable and decent paying jobs for our people. We will support local industries by building a supportive and competitive ecosystem to drive manufacturing growth. Ultimately, a dedicated focus on manufacturing growth will also lead to export growth. Key to this, will be identifying intermediate good that could make our manufacturers more competitive; as well as identifying the products we produce competitively and the markets that consume those products in large and/or growing volumes.

As I conclude, I would like to commit to working hand in glove with the NCOP to strengthen the competitiveness of our provinces. I would also like to acknowledge Minister Tau and Deputy Minister Godlimpi, with whom I commit to work together in good faith, and always in the best interest of South Africa and her people; guided by the National Development Plan, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the GNU’s collective commitment to foster inclusive growth and job creation.

I thank you.