South Africa’s newest R5.8-billion incentive scheme, which has been established to support the embattled domestic manufacturing sector, should become operational during the course of May, according to Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies.
The rules governing access to the so-called Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) would be released soon, reports Engineering News, and the scheme would be open to all manufacturing enterprises not covered by sector-specific industrial financing support mechanisms. In other words, companies in the automotive, clothing and textiles and business process outsourcing industries would not be eligible.
Department of Trade and Industry deputy director-general Nimrod Zalk said the MCEP was also unlikely to support capital-intensive industries, firms in sectors with high levels of market concentration, or those that had been found guilty of anticompetitive behaviour. “We will seek to support initiatives that maximise employment and value-added potential,” Zalk said.
