The Presidential Working Committee on Jobs held its final meeting on 2 December, with the group focusing on progress being made on local procurement.
One of the key initiatives being worked on is a ‘transparent business-to-business procurement platform’, the committee said.
This platform will allow more companies, especially black-owned businesses, to compete for procurement so as to increase uptake of locally produced goods by domestic retailers.
The committee said that it is also working together with Proudly South Africa and the Manufacturing Circle on an ongoing project to identify imported products purchased in large enough volumes to warrant exploration of local production.
It said it will also encourage business to review their procurement budgets to increase expenditure from local producers.
“Social partners are collaborating to strengthen support for supplier development and access to markets for small, medium and micro-enterprises,” it said.
“The Presidential Working Committee is further collecting data on company-specific interventions to identify opportunities.”
Land reform
The committee also welcomed progress in land reform, noting that a number of private landowners and farmers had voluntarily taken the initiative to address equitable access to land.
“More work still remains to be done to improve and expand the grain and livestock value chains, including the expansion of feedlots, as well as growing the poultry industry to position it for the export market,” it said.
“The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is working with the Department of Trade Industry and Competition to increase exports of meat and fruit products to the Middle East and Asia.”
It also called for greater attention to be given to the challenges faced by farmworkers including access to support structures in the event of evictions.
“The President has expressed satisfaction that momentum is building to addressing regulatory barriers and welcomed the progress made to date, noting that greater determination and urgency is required in the implementation of the identified reforms,” it said.
Source: Business Tech
