Pretoria - Cabinet has approved the ninth annual iteration of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) 2017/18 to 2019/20.
The plan addresses the key challenges of economic and industrial growth, race based poverty, inequality and unemployment.
In a statement released on Thursday following its fortnightly meeting, Cabinet highlighted that the IPAP is a key component of President Jacob Zuma’s Nine Point Plan and is aligned to the policy perspective of Radical Economic Transformation.
The IPAP which is a product of the Economic Cluster of government, has scored significant successes in a number of areas including saving many firms and jobs, supporting sectors which are indispensable to South Africa’s prospects for longer term industrialization. It has also shown success in opening new areas of economic growth
Drivers of IPAP 2017-2020 include a redoubled commitment to radical economic transformation; ongoing efforts to secure shared and inclusive growth.
Other drivers include the rapid acceleration of the Black Industrialist Programme, and a much stronger and ongoing focus on labour intensity across the value chains that link the primary sectors of the economy to the manufacturing and services sectors. This is in addition to a stepped-up export effort.
In May 2016, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies launched the eighth iteration of the Industrial Policy Action Plan, saying it is a continuous action plan that is meant to reindustrialise the South African economy and stresses the need for structural change.
Speaking at the launch at a factory in Benoni, Minister Davies said IPAP 2016 again stressed the pressing need for structural change in the economy.
At its meeting on Wednesday, Cabinet also approved the publication of the Information Communications Technology (ICT) Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME) Support Strategy for public comment.
The Strategy aims to develop strategic interventions to accelerate the development and growth of small enterprises in the ICT sector, and to facilitate an increase in the levels of uptake and usage of ICTs by the general small business sector.
Draft National Tourism Sector Strategy
Meanwhile, Cabinet at its Wednesday meeting, also approved the publication of the Draft National Tourism Sector Strategy for public comment.
The strategy is South Africa’s tourism growth and development framework.
It aims to increase direct contribution of the tourism sector to the economy from R118 billion to R302 billion by 2026. This will be done through collaborative planning, and the implementation of agreed priority actions.
This as implementation of the current National Tourism Sector Strategy has led to significant growth in terms of tourist volumes; contributed to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and a significant positive trade balance and job creation.
The next growth phase focusses on inclusive growth and transformation in the sector.
National e-strategy
Cabinet also approved publication of the National e-Strategy for public comment.
“The e-Strategy articulates the vision for the development of an inclusive information society and knowledge economy for the country that is based on the needs of the citizens, business and public sector.
“This provides a platform for South Africans to integrate technology in their lives in a manner that is beneficial to society as a whole,” said Cabinet.
The aim of the strategy is to develop a people centric, caring, knowledge based society, transforming the South African society and the economy based on access and utilisation of modern information communication technologies.
National e-Government Strategy and Roadmap
Cabinet approved the publication of the National e-Government Strategy and Roadmap for public comment.
The Strategy guides the digital transformation of the public service into an inclusive digital society, so as to better enable citizens to benefit from the opportunities offered by digital technologies to improve their quality of life.
This will contribute towards the realisation of the objectives of the National Development Plan as well as leverage government plans and programmes to provide government services in an effective manner. - SAnews.gov.za
