Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel says government will be prioritising six ‘I’s as part of its “radical economic transformation” agenda for the coming five years.

Delivering his Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, Patel said the six components included infrastructure, industrialisation, investment and innovation, inclusion and integration.

He said that, over the previous five years, government had lifted investment in public infrastructure from R610-billion to R1.1-trillion and that State and private investment in public infrastructure would rise to at least R1.5-trillion over the coming five years.

“We will issue guidelines under the Infrastructure Development Act to ensure the build programme drives economic and social transformation, turning infrastructure sites into training spaces and opening the door to real participation by black- and women-owned enterprises and cooperatives,” he added.

To spur industrialisation, his department would seek to leverage President Jacob Zuma’s dialogue with business to unlock productive investment.

Emphasis would also be given to using development finance from the Industrial Development Corporation to stimulate industrial diversification, job creation, localisation and mineral and agricultural beneficiation.

The capacity of the competition authorities would also be strengthened to impose remedies on dominant players and monopolies, to benefit consumers and industries.

“Government will take steps to secure more competitively-priced steel as an input in infrastructure and industrialisation. I will bring relevant amendments to the Competition Act to Parliament next year.”

To support inclusion, efforts would be made, again with the support of development finance institutions, to support the creation of “hands-on” black industrialists, as well as facilitate youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Regional integration, meanwhile, was being viewed by government as the “best way to widen our markets”.

“Our manufactured exports to the rest of Africa rose by about R21-billion, or 16%, in this past year. They now generate about 167 000 jobs in South Africa.”

To further support this thrust, government would finalise the ‘African Free Trade Agreement’ over the coming five years to create an integrated market of 26 countries with 600-million consumers.

“We will focus more resources on African infrastructure and industrialisation, particularly energy, transport, water and information and communications technology as well as in the productive sectors,” Patel said, adding that it would work with existing and emerging trading partners to increase South Africa’s manufactured exports.

“We need to turn South Africa from a nation of importers into a nation of manufacturers.”

However, Patel was speaking against a backdrop of falling manufacturing output and investment, as well as a decline in confidence, partly as result of an ongoing strike in the metal and engineering sector.

There were some signs on Tuesday that employers and workers might be edging towards a deal, brokered by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant. But employer bodies also indicated that they were not entirely happy with the proposal.