Zones to boost economic growth
Vision to open up more areas in South Africa to investment.
THE Department of Trade and Industry held an advisory meeting in St Lucia last month to discuss its proposed Special Economic Zones Bill.
A Special Economic Zone is an economic development tool to promote economic growth and export by using support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investment and technology.
The motive behind this bill is to establish designated zones for import and export and to build upon the country’s International Development Zones, currently limited to shipping and airports.
The department’s vision is to open up more areas within South Africa to investment, thereby enhancing job opportunities.
A number of areas in KwaZulu-Natal have already been earmarked as future Special Economic Zones.
Through such a bill the department intends to focus on ‘targeted investment’, meaning it wants to focus on specific areas that can generate goods produced in South Africa, thereby limiting the country’s reliance on imports.
The idea is that zones are designated areas fuelled by big corporation investment – local or foreign – which will provide populations in surrounding areas with job opportunities in whatever industry the investment company holds an interest.
The uThungulu Community Development representative voiced his concerns over a lack of skills among the majority of South Africa’s population, which could result in foreign investment companies importing skills, thereby rendering the Bill useless.
Another concern raised was that some municipalities hamper foreign investment by charging exorbitant property rates to international companies, resulting in them taking their business elsewhere in the world.
In answer to the first question, the Department of Trade and Industry representative said it intends holding investment companies responsible for the training of potential employees, using tax incentives to achieve this.
The second concern was noted and will be built into the Bill’s amendments.
