A grant of US $ 355.65 million has been approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of South Africa to boost its garment and textile sector. The fund allocation will also create and save jobs.
“DTI through the Production Incentives Programme (PIP) within the Clothing and Textiles Competitiveness Programme (CTCP), approved US $ 355.65 million to create and save jobs in the sector,” Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies was quoted as saying by news reports.
“In addition, US $ 225 million was disbursed until the last financial year,” informed the Minister while addressing the first Clothing Manufacturing Industry Sector Summit hosted in Durban; organized by National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBCCMI).
“Throughout the sector, a number of companies which qualified and drew from both programs, were able to save 81,252 jobs. An additional 9 672 jobs were created and the net new jobs grew by 4 785 until the last financial year from the inception of the CTCP,” added Davis in a statement issued by the Government.
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He urged all the delegates to start a dialogue between retailers and manufacturers around local production and not abandon the issues of empowerment and transformation.
