Bloemfontein - The agriculture sector can create the most
jobs for South Africa, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on
Tuesday.
“If you are looking for jobs numbers, agriculture is the
sector. That is why one of the best jobs drivers in the National Growth Path is
agriculture,” he said.
Patel was speaking during a breakfast hosted by the ANC's
Progressive Business Forum in Mangaung.
He said the automobile industry was another sector which was
creating jobs and attracting foreign direct investment.
Patel said car manufacturer Ford had identified South Africa
as its base for the manufacturing of its Ford Ranger vehicles.
BMW would produce its 3 Series range in South Africa while
Mercedes-Benz had also marked South Africa as one of the manufacturing bases
for its C-Class range.
However, Patel conceded there was a gap between government
policy and implementation.
This was a “central challenge” in government's effort of
achieving job creating growth.
The breakfast was hosted on the sidelines of the ANC's
elective conference in Mangaung in Free State.
Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.