The Clothing and Textiles Competi-tiveness Programme (CTCP) had, to date, created more than 12 000 new permanent jobs in South Africa’s clothing, textiles, leather and footwear sectors, Department of Trade and Industry director-general Lionel October reported last week.

Speaking at the Source Africa 2013 conference, in Cape Town, he indicated that the CTCP, which was launched in September 2010, had breathed new life into these sectors, with more than 400 companies having been assisted under the programme and R1.5-billion in applications having been approved.

“Local retailers are increasing procurement from local manufacturers and con- fidence is starting to be shown by the new investment in the sectors,” October added.

He stated that other Southern African Customs Union countries had also embraced the CTCP concept, while Swaziland was implementing the programme.

“Some less-developed countries have taken full advantage of international trade agreements like [the African Growth and Opportunity Act] to build on their industries. Through these interventions, countries like Lesotho have seen their textiles and clothing sectors growing to the extent that they are now [some] of the biggest manufacturers on the continent both in fabric and garments,” October stated.

He further highlighted the importance of trade among African countries, as the industry had growth potential.

“These sectors are labour intensive and have the potential to create significant employment, especially in the garment manufacturing sector where investment is low but job creation is enormous. The industry has big advantage in that raw materials like fibres, skins and hides are readily available in African countries and it makes business sense to beneficiate these raw materials instead of exporting jobs by selling these resources to countries outside Africa,” October said.

He pointed out that South Africa had opened its markets to Africa through the different protocols, where rules of origin were respected and the manufacturing sectors of those countries were developed. However, he emphasised that South Africa did not support traders who specialised in trans-shipments and destroyed the country’s manufacturing base.