The Rustenburg Platinum belt, which is battling to recover from the effects of a six month strike, will have a special economic zone. Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies, announced this during a seminar hosted by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the Japan External Trade Organisation and industry in South Africa.
“The purpose of the zone will be to develop industries that use platinum as an input. These include jewellery, catalytic converters and fuel cell technology,” Davies said when addressing the issue of re-industrialisation in South Africa and the Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap). “Ipap is neither a policy document nor a wish list. It’s a set of time-bound actions which have to be undertaken by different parts of the government.”
Providing on an update on the advance that has been made since the plan’s inception in the 2007/2008 financial year, Davies said progress had been made in the clothing and textile, automotive, agro-processing and film sectors.