Covid-19 a wake-up call on import overdependence – Madala
The outbreak of Covid-19 internationally should be a wake-up call on the impact of South Africa’s dependence on imported products, Madala & Associates CEO Dilley Naidoo said on March 27.
He urged that policies parallel to what was being implemented in the automotive sector should be prioritised in mining and many other industries as well to reduce South Africa’s economic vulnerability.
“By manufacturing locally right now, using what we have, we could effectively reduce the reliance on imports drastically,” said Naidoo, who is also a director of RSPH.
He said in a media release that overreliance on imports from countries hit by the coronavirus had left South Africa vulnerable and the downstream consequences of this could be devastating.
South Africa could, he said, use this situation to its benefit by taking steps to optimise local manufacture.
He urged the South African government to immediately prioritise and accelerate the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s job-creating automotive transformation and localisation policy, which aims to ensure that 60% of automotive parts are sourced and manufactured locally by 2035.
Parallel policies should be implemented in the mining, steel, rail, engineering and agroprocessing sectors to stimulate and expedite overall transformation and localisation.
Expanding and growing the supply-chain ecosystem was, he said, one of the globally proven ways of growing small and medium-sized businesses, with desperately needed guaranteed customer offtake.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD has been designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining specialist...
VISIT SHOWROOM
For over 15 years, Lilak Aluminium, a trusted leader in architectural extrusion supply, has delivered excellence to businesses like yours.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
