02/09/2010
Source: The Democratic Alliance
Title: DA: van der Westhuizen: Address by DA Member of Parliament, on industrial policy, National Assembly, Cape Town



The DA believes that the protection and creation of jobs should become part of the national agenda. We need to see all spheres of government working towards this goal. The revised Industrial Policy Action Plan is one department's response to this challenge. But in an "open opportunity" society the responsibility for industrial growth is not only the responsibility of government. In an open opportunity society government should create the atmosphere in which the private sector will drive economic growth.

South Africa has lost much of its industrial capacity over the last few years. The recession, and the enormous number of jobs that have been lost, has highlighted the fragile nature of the South African economy. The good news is that every recession, by its very definition, is followed by a period of economic growth. The DA believes that it is of the utmost importance that government must now make the structural changes to the economy so that we can avoid the constraints that hampered the economy during the last economic upswing.

The sad reality is that we have lost much of our skills base, including the ability to train sufficient numbers of artisans and others with the skills needed by a modern, growing, knowledge-based, economy. The sub-performance of the Seta's is contributing to the current skills deficit.

Government should also invest much more in terms of infrastructure. Parliament has dealt extensively with the negative effects of our failure to invest in time in power plants. Other examples are the transport system, especially the railways and our harbours that have not seen the capital investments needed to support long-term growth in industrial activity.

Major developments are too often turned down or delayed, due to capacity constraints in terms of water, sewerage or road infrastructure.

Also, the way in which Black Economic Empowerment is undertaken does little to instil confidence, as was recently illustrated by the alleged mistakes in the awarding of the mining rights to Imperial Crown Trading. It was clear from the oversight visits by the committee that government support, both in finance and advice given to small entrepreneurs, leaves much to be desired.

Industrial Development Zones remain undeveloped areas, due to a lack of incentive schemes. We therefore welcome the tax incentives announcement today. A DA run administration would improve the ability of government to create those opportunities that mark a truly "open opportunity society."