Date: 28/05/2003
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Trade and Industry Dept Budget Vote 2003/2004, NCOP
BUDGET VOTE SPEECH BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, National Council of Provinces, 28 May 2003
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Honourable Members,
Ladies and Gentleman
Nine years after attaining democracy South Africa finds itself firmly located in the global economy. This is a changing environment with many pressures and it means that we as a country need to remain competitive and dynamic if we are to be successful. This dynamism applies not only to the business community but also to government and the institutions that support this community. Dti Budget Vote 32, that we table before you today, is reflective of the changes that the dti and its family of institutions have gone through in order to be dynamic and effective enough to provide leadership to the South African economy so that we are able to achieve our ultimate goals of job creation, economic growth and equality for all South Africans.
The dti budget highlights our need to be a more responsive institution that works with the business community and provides it with the necessary support so that we can jointly tackle the challenges that face all of us. This has seen the dti becoming a more service orientated institution and gearing its support to the needs of the business community and the economy. The most effective means to reach our goals is through a number of independently operating entities that are well co-ordinated and receive policy direction from the dti. To achieve this the dti established a forum called the Council of Trade and Industry Institutions or COTII in August 2000. Through regular quarterly meetings we have been able to develop a common set of performance indicators and ensure that the activities of these institutions meet the strategic objectives of the dti.
COTII comprises twenty-one institutions that deal with most of the needs of South African businesses. These range from institutions that deal with development finance, regulation and what we refer to as specialised services. The latter institutions are those that provide support for small businesses, and assist businesses with quality, standards, technology and innovation. This area also has institutions that deal with women in business. The COTI institutions as a collective address the many different areas of support that is required by an enterprise in order for it to grow and become successful. The establishment of the COTII forum has enabled us to take control of our budget and demand accountability from these institutions on the manner in which the funds are spent and whether these resources are reaching the intended beneficiaries. This forum has also been successful in bringing the COTI institutions closer together so that they achieve greater success in how they assist the economic citizens of our country.
Chairperson, honourable members, in order to give direction to the economy and provide the COTI institutions with a framework in which to operate, the dti released its Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS) last year. Some of the aspects of the IMS are improved market access for South African products in key markets; promotion beneficiation and value addition so that value is added to the many natural resources that are present in our country and finding ways to harness the skills and expertise that we have acquired so that they can be sold to other countries. The IMS also identifies the need to capture local knowledge and to use this information to our advantage. The IMS is also encouraging big corporations and large companies to make greater use of small businesses as well as promoting greater integration between the different sectors in our economy so that they add value to each other. In the IMS we have identified specific sectors that need to be promoted as they are both competitive for South Africa and have international potential. These sectors are clothing and textiles, agro-processing, metals and minerals, tourism, automotive and transport, crafts, chemical and biotechnology, and knowledge-intensive services.
Black Economic Empowerment, Small Business Development, increased use of Information and Communication Technology, job creation, and very importantly more equitable geographic spread of investment and economic activities will be addressed in the implementation of this strategy.
Chairperson, the dti has recognised that the unequal geographical spread of our economy is not sustainable and long-term structural problems will result if this issue is not addressed. The dti is addressing the issue in part through the work of our COTI institutions. It should therefore come as no surprise that a significant portion of the dti budget, as reflected in Vote 32, is transferred to these institutions.
The COTI institutions have in one form or another a presence in all provinces of our country from the remote rural areas of Elim in the Limpopo Province to the central business district of Johannesburg. These institutions have started to make an impact on the economic landscape of South Africa but they have a huge task that faces them with thousands of enterprises and possible entrepreneurs approaching them every day.
Some of the examples of the impact of COTI institutions are:
* Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency, which has established a network of 170 Local Business Service Centres across the country that offer business counselling, advice, training and information to Small Medium and Micro Enterprises. Ntsika also has a successful Tender Advice Centre programme that has facilitated SMMEs winning tenders to the value of R87 million.
* The Manufacturing Advisory Centre (MAC) programme, which initially started as a programme of Ntsika and assists small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing and value adding sectors to become world class, has become a successful institution in its own right and has made an impact on the economy by providing support to over 1 400 enterprises, assisting those enterprises to create over 1800 new jobs and ensuring that over 15 000 jobs were sustained through their interventions. Due to this success we will see the expansion of the MAC programme to all provinces of South Africa and in Vote 32 their budget allocation will be increased from R43 million to R80 million. This increased budget will also go towards the extension of the business referral programme (BRAIN) that they run to 415 locations, as well as increased support in the provision of franchise information and the establishment of one stop-shops for business support services.
* Khula Enterprise Finance has been successful in the last year by providing 800 enterprises with R145 million worth of credit guarantees on their loans and providing wholesale loan finance to SMME lending agencies for R77 million. Through these programmes have contributed significantly to SMME job creation. They have also implemented a rural micro-enterprise lending programme which has lent to over 26 000 micro-enterprises.
* The Industrial Development Corporation, which provides a number of financial products has ensured that over 60% of its projects were in rural and peri-urban areas. This, honourable members, runs into billions of rands that are being put into these less developed areas.
* The CSIR, which is an agency that conducts multi-disciplinary research and technological innovation and has the mandate of fostering industrial and scientific development, is represented in all provinces of the country with major laboratories in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The CSIR has been successful in assisting enterprises with new product development, incubation, and improvements of existing technology. The support that they offer is in a number of sectors including agro-processing, arts and crafts, clothing and textiles, infrastructure, tourism, information and communication technologies, motor industry and aeronautical industry. It is interesting to note that the CSIR has been able to use their high technology facilities in order to develop basic technologies that are able to be easily used by rural communities, for example in beadwork, manufacturing of silk, and commercialising indigenous food products; and
* The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), which in addition to setting minimum quality standards for most of our manufactured goods is also a key institution in the accreditation of firms according to international standards i.e. ISO 9000 or ISO 14000. The SABS has also played an important role in assisting over 800 small businesses across the country to improve their capabilities by subsidising the costs of their ISO accreditation, product testing, skills training in standardisation, and product certification.
There are also efforts to ensure that all COTI institutions have programmes to support women empowerment. In addition to this there are institutions that are solely focused on empowerment of women, namely the Technology for Women in Business (TWIB) programme and the South African Women Entrepreneurs Network (SAWEN). SAWEN was established to assist aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in the small business sector to find solutions to the wide range of gender related obstacles that have an adverse impact on their businesses. The network, which is being set up across the country, will address these constraints by advocating appropriate policy changes, building capacity and facilitating the access of women to business resources and information.
Chairperson, honourable members there are still a number of challenges that we face in the effective delivery of services by our COTI institutions. The dti is acutely aware of these challenges and is continually finding ways to improve the performance of these institutions so that the business community and the citizens of our country are able to benefit from the many services that our COTI institutions have to offer.
To conclude, the vision that we have for the South African economy is to ensure that we are a globally competitive country where there is greater economic equality and distribution of wealth across the geographical regions of our country. Through the vision provided by the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy, the practical support offered by the dti and the COTI institutions to all businesses across the country and with your support of Vote 32, it is possible to achieve this vision by 2014.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Trade and Industry
28 May 2003
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Trade and Industry Dept Budget Vote 2003/2004, NCOP
BUDGET VOTE SPEECH BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, National Council of Provinces, 28 May 2003
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Honourable Members,
Ladies and Gentleman
Nine years after attaining democracy South Africa finds itself firmly located in the global economy. This is a changing environment with many pressures and it means that we as a country need to remain competitive and dynamic if we are to be successful. This dynamism applies not only to the business community but also to government and the institutions that support this community. Dti Budget Vote 32, that we table before you today, is reflective of the changes that the dti and its family of institutions have gone through in order to be dynamic and effective enough to provide leadership to the South African economy so that we are able to achieve our ultimate goals of job creation, economic growth and equality for all South Africans.
The dti budget highlights our need to be a more responsive institution that works with the business community and provides it with the necessary support so that we can jointly tackle the challenges that face all of us. This has seen the dti becoming a more service orientated institution and gearing its support to the needs of the business community and the economy. The most effective means to reach our goals is through a number of independently operating entities that are well co-ordinated and receive policy direction from the dti. To achieve this the dti established a forum called the Council of Trade and Industry Institutions or COTII in August 2000. Through regular quarterly meetings we have been able to develop a common set of performance indicators and ensure that the activities of these institutions meet the strategic objectives of the dti.
COTII comprises twenty-one institutions that deal with most of the needs of South African businesses. These range from institutions that deal with development finance, regulation and what we refer to as specialised services. The latter institutions are those that provide support for small businesses, and assist businesses with quality, standards, technology and innovation. This area also has institutions that deal with women in business. The COTI institutions as a collective address the many different areas of support that is required by an enterprise in order for it to grow and become successful. The establishment of the COTII forum has enabled us to take control of our budget and demand accountability from these institutions on the manner in which the funds are spent and whether these resources are reaching the intended beneficiaries. This forum has also been successful in bringing the COTI institutions closer together so that they achieve greater success in how they assist the economic citizens of our country.
Chairperson, honourable members, in order to give direction to the economy and provide the COTI institutions with a framework in which to operate, the dti released its Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS) last year. Some of the aspects of the IMS are improved market access for South African products in key markets; promotion beneficiation and value addition so that value is added to the many natural resources that are present in our country and finding ways to harness the skills and expertise that we have acquired so that they can be sold to other countries. The IMS also identifies the need to capture local knowledge and to use this information to our advantage. The IMS is also encouraging big corporations and large companies to make greater use of small businesses as well as promoting greater integration between the different sectors in our economy so that they add value to each other. In the IMS we have identified specific sectors that need to be promoted as they are both competitive for South Africa and have international potential. These sectors are clothing and textiles, agro-processing, metals and minerals, tourism, automotive and transport, crafts, chemical and biotechnology, and knowledge-intensive services.
Black Economic Empowerment, Small Business Development, increased use of Information and Communication Technology, job creation, and very importantly more equitable geographic spread of investment and economic activities will be addressed in the implementation of this strategy.
Chairperson, the dti has recognised that the unequal geographical spread of our economy is not sustainable and long-term structural problems will result if this issue is not addressed. The dti is addressing the issue in part through the work of our COTI institutions. It should therefore come as no surprise that a significant portion of the dti budget, as reflected in Vote 32, is transferred to these institutions.
The COTI institutions have in one form or another a presence in all provinces of our country from the remote rural areas of Elim in the Limpopo Province to the central business district of Johannesburg. These institutions have started to make an impact on the economic landscape of South Africa but they have a huge task that faces them with thousands of enterprises and possible entrepreneurs approaching them every day.
Some of the examples of the impact of COTI institutions are:
* Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency, which has established a network of 170 Local Business Service Centres across the country that offer business counselling, advice, training and information to Small Medium and Micro Enterprises. Ntsika also has a successful Tender Advice Centre programme that has facilitated SMMEs winning tenders to the value of R87 million.
* The Manufacturing Advisory Centre (MAC) programme, which initially started as a programme of Ntsika and assists small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing and value adding sectors to become world class, has become a successful institution in its own right and has made an impact on the economy by providing support to over 1 400 enterprises, assisting those enterprises to create over 1800 new jobs and ensuring that over 15 000 jobs were sustained through their interventions. Due to this success we will see the expansion of the MAC programme to all provinces of South Africa and in Vote 32 their budget allocation will be increased from R43 million to R80 million. This increased budget will also go towards the extension of the business referral programme (BRAIN) that they run to 415 locations, as well as increased support in the provision of franchise information and the establishment of one stop-shops for business support services.
* Khula Enterprise Finance has been successful in the last year by providing 800 enterprises with R145 million worth of credit guarantees on their loans and providing wholesale loan finance to SMME lending agencies for R77 million. Through these programmes have contributed significantly to SMME job creation. They have also implemented a rural micro-enterprise lending programme which has lent to over 26 000 micro-enterprises.
* The Industrial Development Corporation, which provides a number of financial products has ensured that over 60% of its projects were in rural and peri-urban areas. This, honourable members, runs into billions of rands that are being put into these less developed areas.
* The CSIR, which is an agency that conducts multi-disciplinary research and technological innovation and has the mandate of fostering industrial and scientific development, is represented in all provinces of the country with major laboratories in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The CSIR has been successful in assisting enterprises with new product development, incubation, and improvements of existing technology. The support that they offer is in a number of sectors including agro-processing, arts and crafts, clothing and textiles, infrastructure, tourism, information and communication technologies, motor industry and aeronautical industry. It is interesting to note that the CSIR has been able to use their high technology facilities in order to develop basic technologies that are able to be easily used by rural communities, for example in beadwork, manufacturing of silk, and commercialising indigenous food products; and
* The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), which in addition to setting minimum quality standards for most of our manufactured goods is also a key institution in the accreditation of firms according to international standards i.e. ISO 9000 or ISO 14000. The SABS has also played an important role in assisting over 800 small businesses across the country to improve their capabilities by subsidising the costs of their ISO accreditation, product testing, skills training in standardisation, and product certification.
There are also efforts to ensure that all COTI institutions have programmes to support women empowerment. In addition to this there are institutions that are solely focused on empowerment of women, namely the Technology for Women in Business (TWIB) programme and the South African Women Entrepreneurs Network (SAWEN). SAWEN was established to assist aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in the small business sector to find solutions to the wide range of gender related obstacles that have an adverse impact on their businesses. The network, which is being set up across the country, will address these constraints by advocating appropriate policy changes, building capacity and facilitating the access of women to business resources and information.
Chairperson, honourable members there are still a number of challenges that we face in the effective delivery of services by our COTI institutions. The dti is acutely aware of these challenges and is continually finding ways to improve the performance of these institutions so that the business community and the citizens of our country are able to benefit from the many services that our COTI institutions have to offer.
To conclude, the vision that we have for the South African economy is to ensure that we are a globally competitive country where there is greater economic equality and distribution of wealth across the geographical regions of our country. Through the vision provided by the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy, the practical support offered by the dti and the COTI institutions to all businesses across the country and with your support of Vote 32, it is possible to achieve this vision by 2014.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Trade and Industry
28 May 2003
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