The recession and its impact on the economy was the focus of a meeting of national and provincial Economics Ministers, Members of Executive Councils (MECs), and senior government officials in Pretoria on Tuesday.

The meeting, the first joint MINMEC meeting of the economic sector since the elections, reflected on the impact of the recession on the economy, particularly on job losses in provinces, and the decline in industrial capacity throughout the country, the Economic Development department said in a statement on Wednesday.

It focused on the impact of the framework agreement - the recent social pact between government, business, and labour - on dealing with recessionary conditions.

"We need to move from smart ideas to smart implementation," said Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, who chaired the meeting.

The MINMEC forum would on an ongoing basis share project ideas, consider new or existing policy initiatives, and consolidate strong partnerships between national, provincial and local governments to deal effectively with the challenges facing economic development.

The meeting identified cooperatives as a key means of providing job opportunities in response to the current economic crisis.

Considerable work had been done in this regard in KwaZulu-Natal and lessons could be drawn from those experiences, the department said.

There was also agreement that far more needed to be done to implement government's policy of paying small businesses within the 30-day limit.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies indicated that consideration needed to be given to setting up a call-centre to monitor progress of payments.

Also under consideration was setting up a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs so that they did not have to be sent from one office to another to access support services.

The meeting agreed that there had to be greater awareness nationally that the economic crisis could continue for a long while.

"Even if economic growth takes off again, we can expect employment recovery to lag for some time," Patel said.

"We need to decide what the priorities will be for all of us," Davies said.

He urged that properly resourced industrial development programs be considered a priority.

He was aware that at least two provinces were developing the idea of a jewellery hub and consideration had to be given to whether resources and skills could carry two such projects.

"Regular meetings of this forum will ensure that experience in dealing with recessionary conditions and major innovative projects could be shared broadly, thus avoiding the "reinventing the wheel" syndrome, the department said.