The Department of Trade, Industry & Competition has issued a media statement announcing the recent launch of a master plan for the medical technology sector. According to the statement, during a speech at the launch Minister Ebrahim Patel noted the ‘significant opportunity’ for sector growth provided under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. This is especially given the continent’s demand for medical technology – apparently well within the capacity and ‘scope’ of South African producers to meet.
The medical technology master plan is the eighth sector plan to have been developed by the department. Others already in the process of being successfully implemented focus on the sugar, automotive, poultry, furniture and retail clothing, textile, footwear and leather value chains.
The Minister made no reference to plans in place for South Africa’s cultural and creative industries (the development of which appears to have been led by the Department of Sport, Arts & Culture) and the country’s forestry sector. Perhaps they have yet to gather momentum.
The overarching objective of each plan is to improve industrial performance, sustainability and competitiveness across the sector concerned. To that end, key stakeholders commit to jointly identifying and implementing the necessary ‘concrete interventions’.
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch
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