Ebrahim Patel, the minister of trade, industry, and competition, claims that the government is attempting to alleviate load shedding.
When a solution is discovered, according to Patel, the Energy Minister will make an announcement.
Patel acknowledged that load shedding is bad for business while speaking on the sidelines of the Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference.
President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned the nation’s energy crisis in his keynote speech at the conference and stated that this is being handled.
“In particular, we must take prompt, firm action to stop the load-shedding that is harming our economy and upsetting our community.
Black industrialists, like every other player in the economy, cannot develop without a consistent source of affordable energy.
“Over the past four years, a lot has been accomplished to change the energy landscape of the nation and bring online new generation capacity.
“However, that is insufficient, and we must proceed more quickly. For this reason, I have gathered all pertinent departments and organisations to work on a coordinated set of actions to supply more electricity to the grid as soon as feasible.
In order to announce a set of measures that effectively address our energy problem, he stated, “We are currently engaged in consultations with social partners on these measures.
Regarding the financing of enterprises, Patel clarified that while businesses are given loans, they must eventually return them.
The Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference, according to Patel, is a venue for black firms to share their insights.
The government is encouraging networking among black firms, according to Patel.
According to Patel, the government welcomed both medium-sized companies that employ people in productive labour and small firms that offer crucial services to the community, as well as trade union leaders who stand up for the interests of the workforce.
“We welcome a number of workers’ trust representatives who own stock in the companies they work for, with hundreds of thousands of employees now owning such shares.
After the Competition Commission looked into restrictive practices and methods to provide access for small firms, we now have tiny panel beater shops that are on the panels of large insurers.
According to Patel, “We have industrialists who have committed their money to establish new companies, expand mines, develop more agricultural lands, acquire machinery, and employ young South Africans.”
According to Patel, SA set a record last year, exporting R1.8 trillion, or roughly one-third of the nation’s GDP.
“Some of the exports were produced by the black-owned businesses existent today.
In order to boost exports and generate jobs locally, we are now collaborating with a network of black exporters that will be unveiled today.
These companies, according to Patel, “have frequently demonstrated resiliency; they are the productive engines that create jobs.”
According to Patel, these companies have frequently demonstrated resiliency, and they are the productive engines that generate new jobs.
We warmly welcome 18 funding organisations, including commercial banks, DFIs (development finance institutions) like the Industrial Development Corporation and National Empowerment Fund, as well as other donors, said Patel.
The first Black Industrialists and Exporters’ Conference, promoted by the President since its inception in 2015, demonstrated progress of governmental measures in promoting access and transformation to more black industrialists in the economy as well as the opportunities that the Africa Free Continental Trade Area (AfCTA) provides.