President Cyril Ramaphosa says government and South Africans must increase efforts to buy locally produced goods and facilitate the greater exportation of products and services into other markets.
He added that the clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector has embraced the localisation drive, pledging half a billion rand to the expansion of local manufacturing sites.
In the sugar sector, government has secured the commitment of local manufacturers of soft drinks to procure 80% of their sugar needs from local growers, including small-scale farmers.
He was addressing the Proudly South African Buy Local Summit.
“There is an express undertaking to increase local procurement over the next 5 years apart from its own procurement commitments, government is working to lower the barrier to entry to make it a lot easier to establish and grow a business in our country.”
“We [are] also working to support existing manufacturers. We are enforcing measures to stop the illegal importation of goods. We have to deepen our collaborations through legislation. We have designated 27 sectors for local procurement by the public sector,” explains President Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa addresses the summit:
