Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has welcomed the signing into law of the Companies Amendment Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa last Friday.

Tau was addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) during the debate on his department’s Budget Vote on Tuesday.

‘In the spirit of transparency and in the hopes that we further improve the ease of doing business, we welcome President Ramaphosa’s ascension to the Companies Amendment Act. The Act aims to improve the ease of doing business by ensuring that our company law is consistent with well-established principles that are not over-burdensome on businesses,’ he said.

Tau said the new Act is also aimed at achieving equity between directors and senior management on the one hand, and shareholders and workers on the other hand, as well as addressing public concerns regarding high levels of inequality in society.

‘The Act will go a long way in ensuring adherence to sound corporate governance, accountability and transparency, and that director
s carry their duties with integrity and care,’ he said.

READ I President assents laws advancing ease of doing business

Tau also welcomed President Ramaphosa’s signing of the Climate Change Bill into law, saying that all South Africans needed to celebrate its ascension.

The Climate Change Act sets out South Africa’s national climate change response, including mitigation and adaptation actions, which also constitutes South Africa’s fair contribution to the global climate change response.

‘The signing of the law came at an opportune moment because as the department, we had already taken significant steps towards identifying opportunities in industrial decarbonisation and manufacturing of green products for both local and export markets,’ he said.

The Act makes provision for an active role by provinces and municipalities in coordinating the country’s climate change responses, as well as setting emissions targets for manufacturing and related sectors.

‘In this regard, our department has developed the Gree
n Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy, which will be implemented.

‘In the next few weeks, we will be meeting with provinces and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to map these out further and ensure that we all channel our energies towards building a greener and climate-resilient South African economy,’ Tau said.

During his speech, Tau said the department will accelerate the roll out of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme in order to achieve better spatial equity.

‘Fortunately, there are local success stories we can learn from to accelerate the SEZ model in other under-serviced areas,’ he said.

He cited the Coega Industrial Development Zone, which is presently home to 63 firms, employing approximately 10 000 people and with cumulative investments of about R11.5 billion.

Tau told the NCOP that his administration will ensure that industrial opportunities resulting from policy, regulatory and private-sector decisions were maximised to enable manufacturing-led growth.

‘Manufactu
ring induces or catalyses growth and jobs in upstream and downstream sectors. These jobs are typically permanent, pay relatively decent wages and provide workers with sustainable careers. And as you would agree, these jobs offer a sense of dignity to our citizens and communities,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency