Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel says devastating global pandemics dating as far back as 1980 have forced partnerships and trade between countries.
These partnerships came about in the interest of rebuilding economies. Patel says this is more evident with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, that saw private/public partnerships in the country.
Patel says even with the pandemic, amongst other things, the economy remains resilient.
Patel was speaking at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation Forum taking place in Drakensberg this weekend.
“The economy has proven to be more resilient than many expected. And in the same period that these shocks shaped our context. We’ve also seen number of positive developments, the auto industry in particular is an example of accessory policy. South Africa transforming its sector to a modern competitive industry employing over 100 000 workers in production with more than half a million cars produced annually 2/3 that we export to the rest of the world.”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana painted a grim picture about the country’s public finances ahead of his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement next week.
Delivering a keynote address at the Forum in Drakensberg, Godongwana warned that the current government debt that’s due for repayment and high debt service cost could erode the government’s available resources.
