Gordhan to launch rescue for factories

Johannesburg - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is likely to announce new measures to support struggling manufacturers when his medium-term budget is released next week, Business Day newspaper said on Monday.

The package would include a production incentive scheme that could benefit glass, rubber tyre and plastics manufacturers, the newspaper said.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies was quoted as saying Gordhan’s announcement would “create confidence in the manufacturing sector and support efforts by manufacturers to raise their competitiveness and improve their productivity.”

South Africa’s manufacturing sector has been the hardest hit by a global slowdown, shedding thousands of jobs since the recession in 2009.

The sector contracted by 7% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter and monthly production data has pointed to another weak quarter in the third quarter.