The Chief Executive Officers of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have expressed delight and satisfaction at the Post-Budget Vote SEZs Stakeholder Engagement that was hosted by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau in Cape Town yesterday.
The purpose of the session was to reflect on progress made in the implementation of the Special Economic Zones Programme, share ideas on key strategic priorities, and strengthen alignment and collaboration across stakeholders.
The Acting Deputy-Director General of Investment and Spatial Industrial Development at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Maoto Molefane described the session as an important historical milestone in the government’s journey striving to gear the country’s economy towards a high-impact industrialisation path.
The session was attended by the CEOs and board chairpersons of all of the country’s SEZs, the SEZs Advisory Board, as well as representatives from the Industrial Development Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Transnet National Ports Authority and the Automotive Business Council (commonly known as Naamsa).
“This is a significant moment and an important milestone as it is the first time that you have the entire SEZs family in one room to discuss about the performance of the SEZs programme, challenges and key priorities and areas requiring government interventions going forward,” said Molefane.
“This can only bode well for the implementation of the revised SEZs implementation model, which is part of the Spatial Industrial Development Strategy. The strategy is primarily aimed at broadening the scope of SEZs-related economic multipliers, which will also lead to the integration of the township economy, amongst others,” he added.
The Acting CEO of the Vaal SEZ, Mr Mxolisi Matshamba welcomed the opportunity for the SEZs stakeholders to engage openly with Minister Tau, particularly soon after he delivered in Budget Vote on Tuesday. Tau said the country’s SEZ Programme continued to make a meaningful contribution towards attracting fixed capital investments comprising 224 operational investments to the value of more than R31 billion resulting in 28 821 active jobs created.
“This engagement session is very important and long overdue. We needed to come together as people who are driving the SEZs programme from the provinces and national to ensure that we are aligned on the point of policy implementation. It also provided a perfect opportunity for us to share experiences as the SEZs and also share our views with the political leadership on some of the critical interventions because as implementers on the ground we would like the leadership to priorities,” added Maxhamba.
The CEO of the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zones, Dr Bheka Zulu also commended Minister Tau for providing a platform for the SEZ CEOs and the boards to discuss matters pertinent to the successful implementation of the SEZ Programme
“Despite the fact that it was the first of its kind, the interaction amongst all stakeholders was really enriching and progressive. If the commitment shown and the views expressed during the open discussions are anything to go by, I have no doubt that the country’s SEZs are bound to grow from strength to strength and take their rightful place in increasing their contribution in the country’s industrialisation and economic growth,” added Zulu.
For the CEO of the Dube Trade Port, Mr Hamish Erskine, described the session as a real turning point for the SEZs Programme.
“There have been very sensible discussions, excellent inputs and I think from this basis we will really move forward and add impetus to implementation of the SEZ programme as part of the broader collective. Minister Tau’s speech really provided clear direction on the way forward.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau and the Deputy Minister, Mr Zuko Godlimpi interacting with stakeholders at the Post-Budget Vote Special Economic Zones Stakeholder Engagement in Cape Town
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Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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