Department Of Trade And Industry Annual Report 2013, the Department of Trade and Industry noted it received a financially unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) for the 2013/14 financial year.
DTI noted key achievements against planned targets for 2013/14 in each of its five clusters: Industrial development; Trade, Investment and Exports; Broadening participation; Regulation; Administration and co-ordination. Challenges included:
– Poorer manufacturing performance due to slow global growth and strikes in the mining industry – Industrial sectors supported by dti incentives show growth, while other sectors like plastics, steel and metal fabrication lagging
– Credit fuelled consumption driven demand is running out of steam
– Electricity and water supply shutdowns impacted on manufacturing
– Sharply escalating administered prices where municipal premiums and pricing anomalies within and in between municipalities
– Higher rail freight and port charges
– Need to build partnerships between government and business to secure much greater progress in upstream mining supply chains and downstream beneficiation.