Parliament, Thursday, 6 August 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition heard that government coordination and active participation in the implementation of South Africa’s Industrial Development Strategy (IDS) to ensure its success.
The committee concluded its three-day Colloquium today. The colloquium brought together government, organised labour, business, industry associations, and economists to solicit their views on the challenges, gaps and opportunities related to the IDS.
The IDS seeks to reindustrialise the South African economy to drive inclusive economic growth and employment. It utilises three pathways of decarbonisation, digitalisation, and diversification given the changing domestic and global economic landscape to maintain the South African manufacturing base’s competitiveness and relevance.
Stakeholders raised several concerns, including:
- The Strategy was perceived to not clearly indicate how these initiatives would be financed or incentivised. For example, decarbonisation and digitalisation initiatives were capital-intensive in nature. Furthermore, access to finance has been reported as a gap to enter new markets or expand investments, particularly for black industrialists and small, medium and micro enterprises.
- The cost of doing business due to administrative and regulatory burdens, as well as the cost of logistics, such as data, road, rail and ports, and the reliability and affordability of inputs such as electricity and water.
- The inconsistent application of local public procurement policy where purchases from local manufacturers are not prioritised leading to loss of business to local producers and related job losses. Local public procurement plays a critical role in driving economies of scale to improve competitiveness. Stakeholders called for a stronger emphasis on locally produced goods and services, as well as longer contracts or larger volumes, where appropriate, to stimulate investment in new and upgraded production capacity to support value chain development.
- Perceived policy incoherence within and between government departments and entities, which can create investor uncertainty and inhibit investment. Policy coherence and the consistent implementation of policies is therefore critical to facilitate investment and employment creation.
Stakeholders also emphasised that South Africa is competing with African and other countries to attract investment; therefore, resolution of these challenges would substantively improve our business case to attract, expand and retain investment, as well as our export competitiveness.
The committee welcomed the honest and robust engagements with all stakeholders. Furthermore, it urged the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to consider all inputs received over the three days and to refine the IDS and/or its implementation plan to incorporate proposals as appropriate.
Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mzwandile Masina, said: “The IDS is not the responsibility of a single department but is meant to be a government-wide programme that aligns public policy, mobilises public and private investment and creates a conducive environment for productive industries”. In this regard, the committee will schedule further engagements with government departments critical to the implementation of the IDS, such as National Treasury, the Departments of Electricity and Energy and of Water and Sanitation, among others.
The committee will continue exercising oversight over the implementation of the IDS and in holding government accountable for delivering measurable outcomes.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRADE, INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION, MR MZWANDILE MASINA.
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