JOHANNESBURG - Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, John Steenhuisen, says the country’s manufacturing sector is being held back by failing municipal infrastructure.
Speaking on the sidelines at the Manufacturing Indaba 2026 on Tuesday, Steenhuisen said that while the country had managed to stabilise electricity supply, that has not permeated down to the municipal level.
This, he said, is where municipalities are battling with electricity and water outages, which then throttle the ability to manufacture.
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According to Steenhuisen, interventions by the National Treasury aimed at ensuring municipalities invest in and maintain critical infrastructure are key.
He also stressed the importance of harbours and ports.
“We have to have functioning ports, harbors and logistics. And then if we're going to increase our trade continentally, we need to see how we look at developing corridors within the continent that make it easier for us to move goods and services around,”
The event, which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre, heard how South African manufacturers are buckling under soaring electricity costs and an influx of imports.
Their cries are for South Africa to produce more goods for export, to reindustrialise and create more factory jobs.
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Steenhuisen said strengthening localisation will be beneficial in reducing South Africa's dependence on imports of manufactured goods.
“We've seen that when you become reliant on imported goods, you are buffeted by international events. And we've seen the huge disruption that's taken place over the conflict now in the Middle East on the movement of goods and services.