House Chairperson, the ACDP notes this Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition and acknowledges the Department’s ambitious R700 billion investment pipeline, including R339 billion in transformative energy projects, as tabled in the Minister’s Budget Vote Speech. Yet, ambition must be matched by delivery.
The South African economy continues to face sluggish growth, with GDP expanding by only 0.6 per cent last year and unemployment persisting at 32.9 per cent.
The ACDP has consistently warned that structural reform cannot remain rhetoric. The sugar industry welcomed relief when government refrained from raising taxes, but broader industrial sectors still suffer from failing logistics and energy insecurity.
The ACDP recognises that funds cannot be shared equitably but must be entrusted to responsible individuals who will steward it wisely. Industrial revival must empower entrepreneurs, strengthen local manufacturing, and uphold ethical governance.
The ACDP commends clean industrialisation and electric vehicle initiatives raised at the G20 Summit, but insists that these must not sideline small businesses or local capacity in growing our economy through industrialisation and beneficiation as the ACDP has championed over the last seven years. We call for transparent timelines, measurable outcomes, and stewardship that rewards responsibility, not rhetoric.
Thank you.
