R70bn set aside to boost economy
CLOSE to R70 billion has been invested towards re-igniting key sectors of South Africa’s economy and creating jobs, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said.
Officials told parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry that four master plans had been finalised and were being implemented in the sugar, automotive and poultry industries as well as in the clothing, textile, footwear and leather retail cluster.
Two master plans are being finalised in the steel and furniture sectors, the department said.
The investments include commitments made at two investment conferences, including R1.5bn for the poultry industry, R60bn for the automotive sector, R6.7bn for clothing, textile, footwear and leather while the sugar industry received R1bn.
“In the poultry industry, production has increased by five during the first eight months of 2020, when compared to the same period in 2019, with an additional one million birds per week produced,” the department's deputy director-general of industrial development Thandi Phele told legislators.
“The South African Poultry Association made a R735 million new investment, out of the R1.5 billion commitment and through these developments 428 jobs have been created.”
The poultry industry master plan aims to refocus the industry to exports and reclaim the domestic market to help save 54 000 jobs and create 3 600 new ones. – African News Agency (ANA)