Rob Davies‚ the trade and industry minister‚ told a launch ceremony in Hammanskraal‚ north of Tshwane‚ radical economic transformation is about “bringing fundamental change in the structure of our economy‚ as well as patterns of ownership‚ participation and management in favour of the majority of people of the country”.
The Department of Trade and Industry was launching the revitalised Babelegi Industrial Park in Hammanskraal.
Davies said industrialisation of the economy is key to transformation of the economy. His department is championing the Black Industrialists Programme.
This project entailed taking a number of people on a “serious test to make sure that they [become] real industrialists”‚ said Davies.
“We’re in the process now of going around the country and showcasing some of these [industrialists].”
The overall goal is to ensure black entrepreneurs owned their companies and assets. This is in contrast to black economic empowerment‚ which has seen a group of blacks acquiring shares in companies.
“We have to promote greater patterns of inclusion‚ greater involvement of the majority of our people in activities in the real economy‚” said Davies.
He said this was an economy that would see black people “actually becoming real industrialists‚ becoming owners of manufacturing businesses‚ not just people who are shareholders in someone else’s companies”.
They would “not just [be] people who are trading shares in one or another venture‚ but actually people deploying their own risk‚ their own involvement and their own personal enthusiasm and hard work …”.
“That’s the only way we’re going to develop. That’s the only way we’re going to reach the goals of becoming a developed country in which we tackle head on the scourges of poverty‚ inequality and unemployment‚” Davies added.
He said the government aimed to achieve such an economy.
“We’ve got a number of initiatives to promote greater inclusion in the economy.”
