Tau says South Africa is done talking, and the first cross-border SEZ is due this year

South Africa is moving past talking about economic growth and industrialisation and into building the projects, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said after a roundtable held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in New York.

The South African Business Impact Initiative roundtable brought government and business together to look at strengthening industrial capacity, expanding trade and investment, and deepening economic integration across the continent. Tau described the session as an assessment of where the economy stands and where the two sides can work together to unlock growth.

“Today was really a business forecast day for South Africa, but also in Africa. The roundtable itself looked at areas of partnership, areas of collaboration and collaboration for the growth of South Africa, but also collaboration with the African continent,” he said on Monday.

On the table were the African Continental Free Trade Area, rules of origin, market access, automotive manufacturing, special economic zones, and financing for South African businesses wanting a deeper role in African industrialisation.

On the AfCFTA, Tau told SAnews the discussion centred on progress in agreeing rules of origin and on identifying products and sectors where African countries can collaborate to expand production and trade. He said the recently adopted automotive pact was among the areas of joint work, and that South Africa is engaging automotive-producing countries on the continent on how their manufacturing capabilities can complement one another.

The roundtable forms part of the department’s broader industrialisation agenda, which identifies regional integration and diversification as elements of the country’s industrial strategy.

The most concrete item was the plan to take South Africa’s special economic zone model across its borders. Tau said government is exploring cross-border SEZs to strengthen regional value chains, and named an initiative involving South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini where discussions are underway. DP World, which he described as the port manager and anchor investor in the Maputo port, is also involved in the Nkomazi SEZ on the Mozambique and Eswatini border.

“We are working with the DP World, that’s of course the port manager and the anchor investor in the Maputo port, but it is also in the Nkomazi SEZ, which is on the border of Mozambique and ESwatini and we’re talking about the creation of a cross-border special economic zone that covers South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique,” he said.

The three countries are working to conclude an agreement before the end of the year. That is a stated target rather than a signed instrument, and the document does not record what happens if the deadline slips.

A second cross-border zone is under discussion at the Beitbridge border post, which Tau described as strategically important for trade into Zimbabwe and the wider continent. The aim there is an integrated border system on both sides to improve the movement of goods.

“It’s an integrated port from both points of view, and this is about improving the ability of products to move with ease into the continent and into the region,” he said.

Funding came up as its own subject. Tau said the roundtable looked at how public and private money could be mobilised for projects across Africa, including mechanisms to reduce investment risk, with talks to international institutions on de-risking and input from South African banks on the role they can play. He said the shift in tone was the significant part.

“So, with conversations that are very productive, conversations that are moving us forward, and all of us agree that we are beyond discussion now. Let us talk about actual projects,” he said.

He framed the engagements as positioning South Africa as an investment and growth hub for the continent while keeping its links to international markets open. The approach matches the department’s stated emphasis on moving from policy formulation to implementation through SEZs, infrastructure investment, development finance, public-private partnerships and trade agreements.

Young people were on the agenda too. Tau said the engagements covered the Youth Employment Service and similar programmes, including bilateral discussions with a group of South Africans on enhancing YES and maximising its effect on youth development, entrepreneurship, skills and on-the-job learning.

“It is important, particularly for young people that have not had a first opportunity into a job to get on-the-job learning, because it is that experiential learning that enhances your capabilities,” he said. He said the discussions also covered an entrepreneurial pathway for young people and regulatory reforms that could support their participation in the economy.

Tau also held bilateral talks with Sayed Muhammad Aadil Ameer Meea, Mauritius’s Minister of Industry, SME and Cooperatives. Trade, investment and industrial cooperation were discussed, and Mauritius expressed interest in South African investment to support the diversification and industrialisation of its economy. Tau said Mauritius wants a partnership built on manufacturing rather than trade alone, and does not want to be seen only as a trading partner.

“Mauritius has said to us that they don’t just want to see South Africa only as a trading partner. We would want you to come and help us industrialise our own economies. So, see yourselves not as people that export products into our economies but see South Africa as the investors that come into our countries and help us to produce goods. And that’s what Mauritius said they would want us to do,” he said.

The sugar industry also featured, with Mauritius a major producer and exporter, alongside the question of balancing protection of domestic industries against improved market access.

The engagements come as South Africa accelerates implementation of its industrial development agenda. The revised Industrial Development Strategy focuses on decarbonisation, digitalisation and diversification, and identifies automotive, manufacturing, mining, agro-processing, the digital economy and green industries for further development.

Tau’s message to business was carried in his speaking notes for the roundtable: “We are moving from ‘what should South Africa do?’ to ‘what can we build together?’”

He said the approach would position the country not only as a market and a source of resources but as a platform for manufacturing, innovation and access to African and global markets.

The document does not record which projects have broken ground, what the cross-border SEZ agreement will contain, or what the Beitbridge discussions have produced so far. The end-of-year target for the South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique agreement is the nearest dated step in the record.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), SA moves from economic discussions to concrete projects - Minister Tau