House Chairperson, Chairperson of the Select Committee, Deputy Minister Zuko Godlimpi, Honourable Members, and Ladies and Gentlemen:
Introduction
As the 7th Administration of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), rest assured we remain committed to building and rebuilding economic inclusion, enabling growth-enhancing opportunities to flourish and facilitate an enabling regulatory environment. These commitments are informed by the Freedom Charter that states: “All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture, and to enter all trades, crafts, and professions.”
House Chairperson,
Repositioning South Africa in a Changing Global Order
Undoubtedly, we are witnessing seismic shifts in global trade that present both challenges and opportunities in the re-ordering of the global economy. This zeitgeist moment is punctuated by a shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world. In turn, this moment is marked by intensifying global competition and growing geopolitical tensions.
Policies such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the European Union, and the Chips and Inflation Reduction Acts in the United States, create an increased protectionist environment which poses an uphill battle for the countries of the global south, including South Africa. As you aware, CBAM alone has the potential to create an almost 1% contraction in GDP on the African continent.
In the face of this, South Africa remains firm that the multilateral trading system with the WTO and the United Nations (UN) at their core, must be preserved until all member states are able to reach their developmental goals. This is the message we will take to the 14th Ministerial Conference in Cameroon next year.
Our announcement on the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP) with the EU in March, is to be welcomed by our provinces and municipalities. For one, CTIP will enable us to execute our decarbonisation agenda and maximise the R90-billion facilitation funding that has been initially committed.
Surely, this will benefit several provinces who are implementing decarbonisation projects, including the Northern Cape, Eastern and Western cape in the context of our green hydrogen ambition. Finding a solution to enable the export of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with the EU will enable Sasol to export SAF from its Secunda plant in Mpumalanga, thereby transforming the plant to a global low carbon competitor.
House Chairperson,
We have been tirelessly at work discussing with our counterparts in the United States. Having submitted our Framework Deal in May, we have signed a condition precedent document with the office of the US Trade Representative. This is a precursor to finalisation of the negotiations.
Our collective work which includes business, organised labour and civil society, in engaging the US Congress is also a key lever in our toolkit for our approach to ensuring the continued inclusion of South Africa in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and to respond to the recently proposed US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act.
Honourable Members,
Our active engagements with Asia are significantly bearing fruit. We have advanced conversations with Chin on Green Industrialisation and deepening our industrial supply chains. We have also committed to working with them to beneficiate our critical minerals here at source.
This will unlock value in our Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Industrial Parks as we agree that these dynamic strategic nodes in our country are best placed to drive our reindustrialisation agenda.
We are also reinvigorating our relationship with Japan through InvestSA and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).
Bringing our lens closer to home, South Africa is assuming the chairship of Southern African Customs Union (SACU) at a critical time. The Ministerial Council has prioritized accelerating the industrialisation work programme, focusing on high-impact value chains like automotives, including Electric Vehicles and components, and mineral beneficiation.
The aim is to promote cross-border investment and develop cross-border Special Economic Zones to shift SACU towards a production-driven regional economy. We are also pivoting to new areas of regional cooperation in the Services and Digital Trade sectors to improve our competitiveness.
Under this strategy companies like Grinding Media SA in Gauteng, who manufacture forged grinding balls and Defy in Kwa-Zulu Natal who manufacture white goods, are already taking advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and exporting to the continent.
The potential upgrading to sovereign shareholding in the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), offers the opportunity to South African companies, commercial banks as well as State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to deliver trade finance and risk guarantees.
Honourable Members,
“All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture, and to enter all trades, crafts, and professions”.
Spatial and Industrial Policy for Inclusive Growth
The Nkowankowa Industrial Park in Tzaneen shows what is possible when we deploy our incentive and regulatory architecture to support investment. Fifty-seven businesses there now employ over 11,000 people. Anchor tenant Peppadew International exports to 26 countries, sources from 66 black farmers and supports more than 40,000 seasonal workers—over 90% of them women. This is a testament to the above quote from the Freedom Charter.
Across the country, investments by provinces are following suit. We see this in the commitments made during provincial budget speeches. Gauteng has allocated hundreds of millions to SEZ infrastructure and township revitalisation. In the Eastern Cape, the Coega SEZ is rolling out green-energy projects alongside small-business training, supported by the province. In the Western Cape, Atlantis is primed for new green economy investments. KwaZulu-Natal’s Dube TradePort is building new logistics routes to help rural agro-processors access formal markets.
But we are not forgetting our underserved provinces. The Namakwa SEZ in the Northern Cape is finalising bulk-infrastructure designs and financial models, with completion due by the end of 2025. The Bojanala SEZ, the first Special Economic Zone in the North West, backed by a R21.5 billion project pipeline is preparing for Cabinet consideration in September this year.
In Limpopo, the Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ has completed public consultations with no objections and awaits formal designation this quarter. The dtic has approved a R1.5 billion EEIP investment by Citi Bank that will catalyse R28 billion in the Vaal SEZ.
Each new zone reinforces the same goal: to turn once-isolated areas into hubs of inclusive industrial growth, where local businesses and workers share in South Africa’s economic revival.
All of this is contributing to a new path for our SEZ and Industrial Parks Programme. Working with National Treasury and the World Bank, we are comprehensively reviewing the programme with a view to finalise a new Spatial Industrial Development Strategy in the second quarter of this financial year.
Honourable Members,
Today, BMW has completed its R4.2 billion investment at its plant in Rosslyn for the X3 Plug-in Hybrid SUV. As part of this investment, BMW IT has employed 2,600 young people servicing 130 countries around the world, all from right here in South Africa.
Honourable Members,
- The Imperative of Economic Transformation
Our journey toward tangible economic justice is measured in both hard-won gains and sobering realities. On the one hand, Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) has driven and yielded meaningful shifts: nearly half of directorships on the JSE are now held by Black South Africans, and black Africans occupy more than a quarter of senior management roles.
In terms of enterprise supplier development (ESD) and the equity equivalent programme (EEIP), there is notable progress that should be emulated by both domestic and international partners.
• Amazon invested R7.8 million in the growth and development of MSMEs in the 2023 and 2024 financial years, and thus procured R3-million in goods and services from Supplier Development beneficiaries over the years.
• Seven of the EEIPs – AITF, JP Morgan – Abadali Fund, Caterpillar, Samsung Frigoglass, Turner and Townsend, and Pharma Dynamics – have provided ESD and Black Industrialist support to manufacturers and service providers in the industrial supply chain, contributing to the localisation of a number of manufactured components, logistics services, and repair and maintenance services.
• Six of the EEIPs – the Amazon, Samsung, Dell, IBM, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard EEIPs – have helped to close the ICT skills gap through practical ICT skills training, internships and learnerships, and direct support of ICT MSMEs, mostly in terms of supporting the training and recruitment of skilled ICT professionals.
Honourable Members,
To move from promise to progress, we have embraced 11 sector-specific codes under the B-BBEE framework. These codes have had varying degrees of success but they remain essential to our achievement of an equal society. These codes are social compacts between our social partners, which demonstrate the commitment that we require to shift the needle in growing our economy and leaving no one behind.
They are precisely targeted, addressing high entry costs in law, capital intensity in mining, or technology deficits in manufacturing. They are backed by accountability through an audited scorecard, transforming aspiration into measurable change. This is evident in the performance of the construction and tourism sectors who achieve 30-40% rates of transformation which are above average.
We have recently gazetted the Legal Sector Code, which builds on the gains of the generic codes and enhances targets from 25% to 50%. Through this we will see black and particularly black female ownership in law firms rise. We will see representation sizeably rise of black practitioners in management control.
Honourable Members,
“All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose…and to enter all trades, crafts, and professions”
As we reach the climax of our G20 Presidency, we are partnering with the B20 South Africa Summit to host a South Africa Investment Focus. We are also supporting C20 to ensure they have successful deliberations. We are also supporting Provinces in hosting their Investment Conferences, with the Western Cape and Mpumalanga coming up, to mobilise investment into South Africa’s industrial and services sectors with a view to create jobs.
Honourable Members,
Conclusion
Without a doubt, we stand at a turning an important inflection point. As the dtic family, we are confident and optimistic that this inflection point is also a zeitgeist moment rich with opportunities.
As the founding father of our nation Nelson Mandela once said: “Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
Together, we can shape a South Africa that works for everyone. The promise of tomorrow is within reach—if we choose, today, to rise together across all three spheres of government and working together with our local and international social partners.
I thank you.
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