S Africa should promote inclusive growth

Source: African News Agency, 03/08/2015

South Africa should raise the economic growth rate and promote
inclusive growth to win the fight against poverty, inequality and
unemployment, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said.

"For us as a country, industrialisation is fundamental and we need to
move-up the value chain," Davies said at a two-day Export Strategy
conference on China`s electronics manufacturer Hisense in Cape Town
over the weekend.

"Infrastructure is necessary to support and underpin
industrialisation. It can also be a basis to support industrial
development, because infrastructure roll-out programmes create demand
for news factories. We also need to support new innovative technology
coming to our country and transferring those technologies to our
people. I believe that these elements will enable us to reach an
inclusive growth."

Davies said government had come up with "various instruments" that
would promote inclusive growth. Industrialisation and infrastructure
development were critical elements of achieving this, he said.

Davies turned to Chinese electronics company Hisense, which has a head
office in Midrand, Johannesburg and a factory in Atlantis, Cape Town.
The factory was launched in 2013.

He said South Africa can learn from the Chinese by promoting domestic
and foreign investment.

"One of the things that are interesting about Hisense in particular,
is that it is one of the first Chinese investments that came to South
Africa and located itself in value added industries. "The People`s
Republic of China changed from being the net recipients of foreign
direct investment to becoming net investors outside of the boarders of
China," Davies said.

He said that government`s policy on black industrialists was important
to promote inclusive pattern of economic growth.

"We need to include more historically disadvantaged people in the
manufacturing sector. It is for this reason that we have taken a
decision to support black industrialists on top of the BEE programmes,
so that we actually assist to create many more black people who are
leaders of industrial enterprises in the country," he said.