The Chief Director of Transformation and Competition at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Takalani Tambani, says the department will continue to dismantle economic barriers and foster inclusive growth in South Africa.
Tambani was speaking at the Kgodiso Development Fund stakeholder engagement held in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
The Kgodiso Development Fund aims to support broad economic imperatives of black-owned farming and other Small and Medium Enterprises across PepsiCo’s value chain.
According to Tambani, key strategies to dismantling economic barriers and fostering inclusive growth in South Africa include leveraging strategic relationships with private sectors, expanding market access, and diversifying trade to enhance resilience in a volatile global trade environment.
“Initiatives like the Transformation Fund, aimed at aggregating enterprise and development funds for small and black-owned enterprises, and the Black Industrialists Programme are key in supporting access by black-owned and controlled enterprises to the mainstream of the economy.
“the dtic also notes the importance of localisation, particularly in agriculture, and celebrates the achievements of the private sector funds in promoting inclusive growth and job creation,” Tambani said.
Speaking on industrialisation, Tambani said industrialisation remains central to the department’s mandate, thus, government puts emphasis on industrialisation and the development of future growth sectors, including agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism and green industries.
“Through a combination of industrial financing, market access initiatives and supplier development programmes, the dtic aims to build sustainable and competitive enterprises that contribute meaningfully to industrial expansion and employment creation.
“All these initiatives will be complemented by pursuing deepened localisation as a key pillar of transformation that is aimed at building domestic manufacturing capability and repositioning South Africa as a significant participant in global manufacturing value chains,” he said
Tambani stated that transformation remained a non-negotiable aspect of the dtic work, aiming to strengthen economic inclusion and broaden participation in all industries.
He said the dtic regarded the Kgodiso Development Fund as a good example of how public interest conditions can advance inclusive economic transformation.
“Transformation must be measured in policy commitments, hectares planted, farmers funded, business sustained and livelihoods improved,” said Tambani. – SAnews.gov.za
