Municipality to expand investment incentives

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality wants to review its investment incentives policy to include some sectors barred from benefiting, such as small businesses.

The incentives policy was approved in 2009 and excluded a number of sectors.

Strict criteria are used to evaluate if companies can benefit from the incentives.

The companies have to have created at least 50 jobs and bring a capital investment of at least R10-million.

The money is given to the companies in the form of discounts on rates, water and electricity – not hard cash.

In a report to the economic development, tourism and agriculture committee, which met yesterday, executive director Anele Qaba wrote that they hoped to review the policy into a local economic development support policy.

This is to cover foreign direct investment incentives, local business development incentives, trade and export support incentive grants and the SMME development support grant.

“The need to review the investment incentives policy emanates from the fact that [it] was developed nine years ago, and . . . a few areas/sectors were not catered for . . .

“These areas include the incentives for trade and export SMMEs and general SMMEs,” Qaba wrote.