Pretoria - The recession and its impact on the economy was the focus of a
meeting of national and provincial economics ministers, MECs, and
senior government officials in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The meeting, the first joint "Minmec" meeting of the economic
sector since the elections, reflected on the impact of the
recession on the economy, particularly on job losses in provinces,
and the decline in industrial capacity throughout the country, the
economic development department said in a statement on Wednesday.
It focused on the impact of the framework agreement - the
recent social pact between government, business, and labour - on
dealing with recessionary conditions.
"We need to move from smart ideas to smart implementation," said
Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, who chaired the
meeting.
The forum would on an ongoing basis share project ideas,
consider new or existing policy initiatives, and consolidate strong
partnerships between national, provincial and local governments to
deal effectively with the challenges facing economic development.
The meeting identified co-operatives as a key means of providing
job opportunities in response to the current economic crisis.
Considerable work had been done in this regard in KwaZulu-Natal
and lessons could be drawn from those experiences, the department
said.
There was also agreement that far more needed to be done to
implement government's policy of paying small businesses within the
30-day limit.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies indicated that
consideration needed to be given to setting up a call-centre to
monitor progress of payments.
Also under consideration was setting up a one-stop shop for
entrepreneurs so that they did not have to be sent from one office
to another to access support services.
The meeting agreed that there had to be greater awareness
nationally that the economic crisis could continue for a long
while.
"Even if economic growth takes off again, we can expect
employment recovery to lag for some time," Patel said.
"We need to decide what the priorities will be for all of us,"
Davies said.
He urged that properly resourced industrial development programs
be considered a priority.
He was aware that at least two provinces were developing the
idea of a jewellery hub and consideration had to be given to
whether resources and skills could carry two such projects.
"Regular meetings of this forum will ensure that experience in
dealing with recessionary conditions and major innovative projects
could be shared broadly, thus avoiding the "reinventing the wheel"
syndrome, the department said.
- Sapa