Johannesburg, 14 September 2017 – Business, labour and other social partners should work together to punish those involved in corruption and state capture, Mapungubwe Institute for Strategy Reflection (MISTRA) CEO Joel Netshitenzhe said today.

Netshitenzhe was among a list of high-profile speakers at the two-day 3^rd Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba which is currently underway at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) conference centre in Sandton.

Addressing the delegates, Mr Netshitenzhe said: “If you looked at the National Industrial Policy Framework, the Industrial Policy Action Plan and the outcome of the recent ANC policy conference, you will find that there are very rational ideas about how to ignite growth, how to eliminate weaknesses in state-owned enterprises, how to ensure close cooperation among social partners and how to punish those who are involved in corruption and state capture. In the South African context, there is no shortage of visions, policies and rational articulation on what needs to be done. The challenge is with implementation.”

Mr Netshitenzhe said there were numerous deficits in political leadership in South Africa and across the region and this applied to state capacity and political legitimacy.

“We need to pose the question – in instances where the state is weak, where government has got serious deficits, what should business, labour and other social partners do? It would be wrong in my view of us to throw our hands up in despair. Rather we need to soldier on and pursue what is in the best interest of our companies, sectors and the economy as a whole. By doing so, we will be strengthening the healthy forces in government and making life difficult and uncomfortable for those who are bent on illicit accumulation. South Africa is fortunate because we have got a noisy civil society and an independent and autonomous private sector,” he said.

In her address to the conference, ANC Member of Parliament Dr Makhosi Khoza called for a brutally honest engagement about the problems facing South Africa especially with regard to the restoration of human dignity and unemployment in South Africa. Khoza said the extent to which local industries were protected and the content of trade agreements depended to a large extent on political leadership.

“Political leadership matters because behind the unemployment statistics are people. There is no way our people can have their restored for as long as long as they are unemployed. There is no dignity in unemployment,” Dr Khoza said. She said the country’s political leadership was indifferent about the plight of the unemployed.

She said South Africa should go back to some of the trade agreements and ponder if these were in the interest of South Africans. “Are they serving the interest of our people?”  she said.

Commenting on the influx of cheap imports mainly from China, Dr Khoza said local entrepreneurs felt let down by authorities. “We do not seem to understand the extent of the impact of the Chinese imports,” she said.

Speakers in the first day of the conference included independent director of companies Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) CEO Dr Raymond Patel, Manufacturing Circle CEO Philippa Rodseth and Aurik Business Accelerator CEO Pavlo Phitidis.

ENDS

Issued by:

Siseko Njobeni

Communications Manager

Tel: (011) 298 9411 and 082 602 1725

Email: siseko@seifsa.co.za

Web: www.seifsa.co.za

Johannesburg, 14 September 2017 – The judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture should be set up without delay, African National Congress (ANC) Treasurer-General Dr Zweli Mkhize told delegates at the 3^rdSouthern African Metals and Engineering Indaba in Sandton today.

Delivering an Opening Address at the two-day conference, Dr Mkhize said: “There are concerns around issues of clean governance and the fight against corruption. In this case, we must always state our commitment to deal with those issues and accept that, where there is criticism in that front, it is not necessarily misplaced,” Dr Mkhize said.

He said there were various allegations that the government and the ANC were soft on corruption. “Of late, looming large has been the issue of state capture. This terminology came from the ruling party. An attempt initially by the ANC to investigate this quickly proved that this issue is too large for the ANC to investigate. It was quickly abandoned. We agreed that it needed to be taken up by various institutions with the necessary capability and resources,” he said.

Dr Mkhize said, as far as the ANC was concerned, there was a need for a judicial commission of inquiry. He said the commission should be set up expeditiously andacknowledged the delay in the finalisation of the Commission’s terms of reference. He said the commission was an opportunity to deal with all the allegations of state capture, saying such an investigation should be open to public scrutiny. Dr Mkhizesaid statements and allegations against the Gupta family and the recent emails with alleged details of the family’s improper business dealings needed to be investigated properly “so that we do not have to contend with the speculation about the veracity or lack thereof of such emails.”

In his address, Dr Mkhize also commented on the upcoming ANC national conference in December. He said the ANC acknowledged its weaknesses. These, he said, included divisions within the party, factionalism, and the manipulation of the organisation’s structures. “It is not what happens within the party that becomes a challenge. It is when the issues inside the party spill over into the instruments of governance,” he added.

Meanwhile, in his address at the conference, Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel highlighted the need for a new national deal with four components – a credible growth story that places emphasis on sectors with high growth potential,integrity in governance and decision making, transformation and prudent fiscal management that inspires confidence.

Mr Patel told the conference of the various steps government had taken to support the metals and engineering sector. These included industrial funding, local procurement, beneficiation and actions against cartels, transformation and collusion as well as connecting people with opportunities.

ENDS

Issued by:

Siseko Njobeni

Communications Manager

Tel: (011) 298 9411 and 082 602 1725

Email: siseko@seifsa.co.za

Web: www.seifsa.co.za

Johannesburg, 31 August 2017 – The 1.5% annual decrease in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for intermediate manufactured goods in July 2017 does not augur well for producers in an economy stuck in low growth and generally rising input costs, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Economist Marique Kruger said today.

This reflects a fifth consecutive year-on-year decrease, which is indicative of prolonged subdued domestic demand. From June 2017 to July 2017, the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods decreased by 0.9%.

Ms Kruger said the 1.5% decrease in the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods left no leeway for manufacturers to pass cost increases onto the market.

“On an annual basis, SEIFSA’s composite input cost index, which tracks the average costs structure for the metals and engineering (M&E) sector, recorded a -1% decrease in July 2017, largely due to a stronger rand which has helped mitigate costs. Although the index depicts a decreasing input costs scenario, the rate of decrease was better than the annual figure previously recorded (-4.1) in June 2017, despite the weak economy and additional costs incurred from the conclusion of a new wage deal by the metals and engineering sector,” she said.

“Even though currently the differential between the selling price and input cost remains positive, the gap is decreasing as the volatile rand and structural rigidities prevent local companies from benefiting from low international commodity prices,” she added.

Despite South Africa’s junk credit status, the rand has been stronger against most currencies over the past two months compared with a year ago, she said. Ms Kruger said the exchange rate effect on prices appears to be diminishing and that this would be beneficial for inflation, input costs and margins of companies in the sector.

Ms Kruger said she expected a positive trade balance for July 2017 on the back of a good month in June 2017.

“A positive trade balance augurs well for exports and generally provides clues on the health of the manufacturing sector. This, together with the anticipated increase in domestic demand from the current expansionary monetary policy stance, provides hope for a reversal in the fortunes of the M&E sector in particular.

“We are hopeful that the next release of the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods will be more encouraging, since the lag effects of increased domestic demand starts filtering through. We will continually monitor the trend,” Ms Kruger concluded.

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Siseko Njobeni
Communications Manager
Tel: (011) 298 9411 and 082 602 1725

Email: siseko@seifsa.co.za

Web: www.seifsa.co.za

Johannesburg, 27 August 2017 – The creation of a single market for goods and services through the much-anticipated Continental Free Trade Area will create enormous opportunities for manufacturers in the continent, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba said today.

The 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012, adopted a decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by an indicative date of 2017.  At the Summit, the AU also adopted the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) with seven clusters – trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information, and factor market integration.

Speaking ahead of the 3^rd Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba – to be held from 14 -15 September 2017 at the IDC Conference Centre in Sandton – Mr Nyatsumba said if African leaders were serious about trade and economic integration, they should act with speed in the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area.

“The Continental Free Trade Area is an important step in the continent’s desired transition from reliance on exports of raw materials to manufactured products. The downturn in commodities has exposed the fragility of some of the African economies. The Free Trade Area is also critical for the rapid industrialization of the continent and Southern Africa, in particular.

“The agenda to advance Africa’s economic transformation through, among others, economic diversification, makes elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers among African countries urgent. Therefore, the creation of a single and functional continental market for goods and services must be a priority,” Mr Nyatsumba said.

In one of the sessions, the 2017 Indaba will critically assess the progress that has been made in the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area and the implications that it will have on manufacturing in Southern Africa. Speakers on this topic include Department of Trade and Industry Chief Director for Africa Multilateral Relations Mr Wamkele Mene, Africa House Director Duncan Bonnett and University of Stellenbosch Emeritus Professor Collin McCarthy.

Other speakers at the conference include ANC Treasurer-General Dr Zweli Mkhize and ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who will deliver the Opening and Closing addresses, respectively.

ENDS

Issued by:

Siseko Njobeni

Communications Manager

Tel: (011) 298 9411 and 082 602 1725

Email: siseko@seifsa.co.za

Web: www.seifsa.co.za