Entrepreneurs in the township economy are calling to be part of AGOA.
Township Economic Commission President Bheki Twala says the township economy contributes only six percent of the gross domestic product, and forums like AGOA can help boost that figure.
Given that South Africa is a net importer of goods, Twala says it’s important for those in the manufacturing space to be compliant in order to trade internationally.
“That’s the reason we are also encouraging businesses in the township to move, especially those that are in the manufacturing space, to make sure that at the end of the day, they manufacture for global consumption because, as we are saying, compliance is very critical. Make sure that you bring in SABS to accredit this product but we also need to bring in Proudly South Africa. So that when we push these products, those products are also welcomed in the international space.”
Finished products
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the summit earlier.
He said the African continent wants to produce finished products that will be exported to other parts of the world. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources, including diamonds, gold, iron, fruit and vegetables.
Ramaphosa says trading is part of the continent’s DNA. He has added that the continent values the relationship with the US, the biggest economy in the world.
“Africa is an important source of critical raw materials but we don’t want to define it simply as being the producers of commodities. The great opportunity lies in the transformation of rocks and metal that we produce into the sophisticated industrial and consumer goods needed across the world. Gone should be the days when Africa is seen as the source. We’d now want to produce the products. We want to earn full value for our products. It’s a journey that requires great partnerships that we should forge and we look forward to the US working with the continent to foster an investment-led approach.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address:
