As South Africa navigates an increasingly complex global environment, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau has assured the public that the country remains firmly on course, with government focused on stimulating investment, industrialisation and combating illicit trade.
“The global environment has been deeply unsettled by the ongoing Middle East War and its associated disruptions to supply chains of energy, fertilizers and petrochemicals,” Tau said.
Presenting his department’s Budget Vote in Cape Town on Tuesday, the Minister said that as a net oil importer, South Africa faces real recessionary risks and threats to industrial competitiveness.
“Amidst these headwinds and as this budget vote will indicate, we are turning the corner as a country, and as the dtic, our work remains central to this momentum,” Tau said.
Tau said South Africa’s policy environment is now consistent and forward-looking and that Cabinet recently adopted the Industrial Development Strategy (IDS), which directs the country’s industrial policy agenda.
“Our pathways of decarbonisation, diversification, and digitalisation anchor the Industrial Development Strategy, thereby reflecting the reality that South Africa cannot compete in the world of the future using the tools of the past.
“We are reviewing our Automotive Production Development Plan (APDP2), with a view to stimulating new investments in South Africa and supporting the growth of our component manufacturers,” he said.
Tau said the work of the dtic in implementing localisation is evident in the R86.6 billion in locally manufactured goods and services procured in the 2025/26 financial year.
“For this current financial year, our target is R100 billion in localisation. This is possible through collaboration with our social partners,” he said.
In regard to the systemic challenge of dealing with the illicit economy, which costs the South African economy an estimated R700 billion, equating to roughly 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Tau said critical intervention is being made by the National Consumer Commission.
“As a measure to protect consumers from illicit trade in the economy, in this financial year, we will publish a Track-and-Trace mechanism on goods. The mechanism will mainly target illicit trade in tobacco, alcohol, food and consumer appliances,” he said.
Tau said the 2026 South African Investment Conference (SAIC) secured the highest-ever value of investment commitments since its establishment in 2018.
“Domestic firms led the charge, with two-thirds of investments coming from South African companies, which signalled a strong confidence in the local economy. The conference formally launched South Africa's second investment mobilisation drive, targeting R3 trillion in new investment by 2030.
“Despite the challenging global trading environment, the country’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Programme continues to make a meaningful contribution towards attracting fixed capital investments. To date, spatial transformation efforts have resulted in 224 operational Investments to the value of more than R31 billion, resulting in 28 821 active jobs created,” he said.
The dtic and its entities have been entrusted with consolidated resources amounting to approximately R130.6 billion over the medium term to advance South Africa’s industrialisation, economic transformation, and investment agenda. – SAnews.gov.za
