Question NW752 to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
01 April 2022 - NW752
Yako, Ms Y to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
With reference to his department’s budget allocation, wherein funds have been allocated towards the Performance Management Unit, what is the reason that his department has chosen to open a new unit when it is critical that funds should be channelled towards assisting ailing companies that are not coping with the impact of the coronavirus? [
Reply:
On 22 March 2022, I advised the Portfolio Committee of the work of the Department and its entities on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. In the course of the presentation and the engagement, I drew attention to the need to scale up the impact of the state’s efforts to promote spatial development. The Project Management Unit (PMU) was set up at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to enable better performance of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks; and to integrate work on SEZs with the overall work of industrial funding by the IDC. Staff from the dtic were seconded to the Unit, with the budgeted financial allocation for salaries still being the responsibility of the Department. Their responsibilities include assisting companies to establish new businesses and significant progress has been made in the Tshwane SEZ, which has helped to create close to 4000 construction jobs and 559 permanent jobs to date.
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