24-04-2013, 10:59 AM
Pretoria - There is no conflict between the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), Trade and Industry (dti) Minister Rob Davies says.
The minister’s comments follow a call by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday that the IPAP – whose fifth iteration has been unveiled and outlines government’s plans to industrialise the South African economy – should be rejected.
According to the DA, the IPAP should be rejected as it conflicts with the NDP and “allows government too great an interventionist role in the economyâ€.
The IPAP has a focus on the country’s manufacturing sector to create jobs.
“The NDP does not say we should not have IPAP ... Also contrary to the DA’s assertion that the IPAP makes no reference to the NDP, under the heading ‘Policy Context for IPAP’, the IPAP states South Africa's long term vision of an equitable society is provided by the NDP,†Davies said on Tuesday.
Briefing the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Davies said the DA’s call should be dismissed as it was misleading.
The NDP aims to ensure that all South Africans attain a decent standard of living through the elimination of poverty and reduction of inequality by 2030. The core elements of a decent standard of living identified in the plan include housing, water, skills development and quality education.
Davies clarified that the IPAP was fundamentally about raising private investment through programmes that are consulted intensively with business and labour.
“We have never tried to direct against the advice and the wisdom that come from the industry players, business and labour. We have worked with them in developing our programmes and we have gone through exercises of self-discovery to inform our programmes with players.
“We have negotiated the programmes with the players and that is the shape of IPAP,†said Davies.
The minister reiterated that the IPAP remained the flagship of the dti.
Additionally, it was not government’s intention to impose bureaucratic hurdles on small businesses as claimed.
The DA said that the main provisions of the draft Licensing of Businesses Bill were contrary to the policy proposals made in the NDP and would make it more difficult to start and grow a business in South Africa.
The bill was gazetted in March following Cabinet approval. In terms of the bill, everybody wanting to do business in South Africa would have to register to do so.
According to Davies, the bill will deal a blow to those who are operating legally.
“The existing informal traders, hawkers and small businesses are subject to increasing competition from illegally operating entities in the country, entities that trade in illegal goods, sub-standard products and probably employing illegal foreigners and do not pay vat.
“The importance of this legislation is about creating a mechanism of dealing with all these illegal issues,†said Davies.
The gist of the bill, he added, was to create a simple, cheap and easy system that will assist in curbing illegal operations that result in unfair competition among businesses in the country. - SAnews.gov.za
The minister’s comments follow a call by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday that the IPAP – whose fifth iteration has been unveiled and outlines government’s plans to industrialise the South African economy – should be rejected.
According to the DA, the IPAP should be rejected as it conflicts with the NDP and “allows government too great an interventionist role in the economyâ€.
The IPAP has a focus on the country’s manufacturing sector to create jobs.
“The NDP does not say we should not have IPAP ... Also contrary to the DA’s assertion that the IPAP makes no reference to the NDP, under the heading ‘Policy Context for IPAP’, the IPAP states South Africa's long term vision of an equitable society is provided by the NDP,†Davies said on Tuesday.
Briefing the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Davies said the DA’s call should be dismissed as it was misleading.
The NDP aims to ensure that all South Africans attain a decent standard of living through the elimination of poverty and reduction of inequality by 2030. The core elements of a decent standard of living identified in the plan include housing, water, skills development and quality education.
Davies clarified that the IPAP was fundamentally about raising private investment through programmes that are consulted intensively with business and labour.
“We have never tried to direct against the advice and the wisdom that come from the industry players, business and labour. We have worked with them in developing our programmes and we have gone through exercises of self-discovery to inform our programmes with players.
“We have negotiated the programmes with the players and that is the shape of IPAP,†said Davies.
The minister reiterated that the IPAP remained the flagship of the dti.
Additionally, it was not government’s intention to impose bureaucratic hurdles on small businesses as claimed.
The DA said that the main provisions of the draft Licensing of Businesses Bill were contrary to the policy proposals made in the NDP and would make it more difficult to start and grow a business in South Africa.
The bill was gazetted in March following Cabinet approval. In terms of the bill, everybody wanting to do business in South Africa would have to register to do so.
According to Davies, the bill will deal a blow to those who are operating legally.
“The existing informal traders, hawkers and small businesses are subject to increasing competition from illegally operating entities in the country, entities that trade in illegal goods, sub-standard products and probably employing illegal foreigners and do not pay vat.
“The importance of this legislation is about creating a mechanism of dealing with all these illegal issues,†said Davies.
The gist of the bill, he added, was to create a simple, cheap and easy system that will assist in curbing illegal operations that result in unfair competition among businesses in the country. - SAnews.gov.za