Trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau says investors have expressed a strong appetite to invest in the Vaal region, even before the government’s Sedibeng Special Economic Zone gets off the ground.
Tau was replying to questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.
MK Party MP Siyabonga Gama asked the minister about the state of the Sedibeng regional economy without the special economic zone (SEZ), to which the minister replied the SEZ has added to an already healthy appetite for investment in the area.
“Until the investors have come in and the SEZ has been designated, we can’t talk about actual investments that have happened. It’s a process to actually get to the designation of the SEZ on which basis investors come, and that’s why we talk about pipeline and commitment.
“That, however, does not mean that ... we have not been able to attract investors into the area of Sedibeng, broadly speaking. We continue to engage with a variety of investors that have indicated that some of them are actually practically investing in the Sedibeng area, and some of them are saying, ‘we can’t wait for the SEZ, but for purposes of the SEZ, we can only say this is invested in the SEZ when the SEZ exists’,” the minister said.
IFP MP Thokozani Langa asked the minister about the measures to ensure that the proposed Vaal SEZ delivers sustainable reindustrialisation and long-term economic growth in the region.
Tau said the Vaal region has faced immense economic difficulties due to deindustrialisation and broader pressure on the steel industry.
“As an evidence-based department, we as a country collectively approved the Sedibeng Region Business Plan. We know and understand that Sedibeng is experiencing challenges, including economic decline, deindustrialisation, reduced demand in the steel sector and declining private sector investment.”
At the same time, Tau said, the region retains strong industrial infrastructure, strategic location advantages and a sizable labour force, which provides the foundation for an industrialisation agenda.
“The SEZ is therefore a targeted intervention aimed at reindustrialising the region, attracting investment into diversified and high-growth sectors, including green industries, leveraging existing infrastructure and capabilities to drive industrialisation, promoting job creation, innovation and skills development.”
He said the first stage of the SEZ development has attracted a pipeline of R10bn worth of investment, which has the potential to attract 4,000 to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to data from the Industrial Development Corporation.
He said, in addition to this, large-scale catalytic projects and investments, such as the Vaal Aerotropolis, and an investment by brewer AB InBev-SAB, would further enhance the job creation capability of the SEZ.
Langa asked the minister what corrective measures existed to ensure that the losses by the state and investors are mitigated should the SEZ fail to yield the expected economic and employment returns. The minister said businesses already in the region are buying in.
“We are a lot more optimistic than that. We have received commitments from a number of investors already… and in fact we are already seeing significant investments being made by a number of players in the Vaal area.”
He said relevant entity CEOs have been given the powers to act to bring the SEZ’s vision to life in partnership with the Gauteng Economic Development Agency.
TimesLIVE
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