Reliable, sustainable energy key to industrialisation: Ebrahim Patel

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel has conceded that reliable, affordable and sustainable energy is essential for industrialisation.

He says the private sector has an important role to play in making this possible.

South Africa’s energy crisis has raised the cost of doing business in the country. This as Eskom implements rolling blackouts.

Patel was addressing the Proudly SA, Buy Local Summit and Exhibition in Johannesburg yesterday.

“We need to get the private sectors to embrace that and so we met with BUSA and COSATU and NAPTU and FEDUSA in 2020 and after a few months of engagements, we agreed to work together on a localised accord to seek to localise R200 billion worth of goods over a five year period.”

More details in the report below:

Township economy

Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says townships have the potential to produce new business ideas.

Lesufi says the township economy is the province’s new gold.

“I am a fanatic of township business. I really believe that if you give township business a chance, it will be the centre of creating opportunities and the traffic will go the opposite side instead of one traffic going to urban areas, and another traffic going to the townships and that’s an opportunity we should harness and take advantage of.”