Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Alexandra Abrahams has emphasised the importance of localisation to the country’s economy, with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) committed to supporting business and consumers overcome the challenges and constraints that hamper this.

She was speaking on the first day of Proudly South African’s fourteenth yearly Buy Local summit and expo, being held on March 16 and 17 at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg.

Abrahams said businesses have had to contend with almost 20 years of unreliable energy supply. While this has stabilised, water supply challenges are now impacting on their operations. Government red tape was also mentioned as a hindrance.

While South African businesses throughout the value chain have manoeuvred through these challenges and remained resilient, Abrahams emphasised that no sector should be stuck in “survival mode”.

“We must move past resilience and into an era where industry thrives and is enabled by government. Because when industry thrives, South Africa thrives as a nation,” she highlighted.

Abrahams assured that businesses would have the support of the dtic (see attached video for the department’s efforts in this regard).

She also pointed out that there was a clear distinction between localisation and protectionism.

“Supporting local products should not mean insulating our economy to the point where industries lose the incentive to compete globally. South African products should succeed in international markets because they’re innovative, reliable and of world-class quality, not simply because they are shielded from competition,” Abrahams stressed.  

She explained that the objective of localisation was to better the conditions under which local firms competed, rather than create permanent protection.

Abrahams highlighted that government had a range of policy and supporting instruments that could help develop industrial capabilities, deepen value chains and unlock South African competitive advantages on the global stage.

Proudly South Africa chairperson Howard Gabriels highlighted that localisation was critical to the survival of the country’s economy.

Lauding this year’s event as a “milestone”, he noted that Proudly South Africa over the past decade or more had negotiated with National Treasury to integrate its members into the central supplier database system, allowing several to compete for tenders within the public sector.

The organisation had also focused keenly on manufacturers and the purchasing of goods and services by large corporates in the country.

Gabriels informed that, since 2018, Proudly South Africa had secured almost 100 commitments from corporates for local spending, to the value of about R6-billion. He said this showcased the value of the organisation’s work, and how initiatives could result in material results.

This year’s event commemorated Proudly South Africa securing 12 new commitments from strategic partners and companies, bolstering this base. These came from the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund, Standard Bank South Africa, South African Breweries, Arena Holdings, Sleep Group, Haleon South Africa, Coleus, Unilever, Illovo Sugar South Africa, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, Zensar and Aranda Textile Mills. 

Moreover, it had focused on consumers, running extensive campaigns over this period to convince them to buy local.