2015 will be a year that Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies would rather forget. It has seen South Africa embarass itself on so many levels when it comes to trade, industrialisation and policy certainty. The common thread, Rob Davies has presided over all of it.
The wheels started to come off when the department published the BBBEE clarification codes in May which sought to make some very rich well-connected individuals even more wealthy. This was done overnight and without explanation. It sent businesses, big and small running around in circles trying to make sense of the lunacy unfolding before them for 2 whole weeks. Eventually, he issued a rare apology to the portfolio committee for the mess.
In September, the DA exposed a “flagship project” of the department, that being the Centurion Aviation Village (CAV) to be a complete sham. R100 million of public money has been spent with very little results. In Parliamentary replies, Minister Davies stated that there were two existing leases in place, this turned out to be untrue. In fact, there is one ‘occupant’ with no lease and who hasn't paid a single cent in rent.
Furthermore, it seems that very little action has been taken in relation to the Nexus forensic report into corruption and maladministration into the project. The Minister has refused to table the full version of the report despite repeated requests by the DA. We eventually had to make a PAIA application to which we were supplied a heavily redacted version.
In an almost blind attempt to gloss over the problems that exist with this project, the Minister’s spokesman told the media the village was ‘fully operational’ to which end Davies defended in a portfolio committee meeting in November. It seems that the reality of the mess has not quite struck home to the Minister.
Next up was the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill. This may well be one of the most laughable pieces of legislation that has ever been brought to Parliament because it does exactly the opposite of what it hopes to achieve. Originally consisting of just 5 pages, the Bill sought to provide an overarching framework for investment into South Africa at the expense of the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) which offered both protection for inward and outward South African investment.
Sadly and to our detriment, the Government went about cancelling these agreements as if investment flows are singular in nature and a ‘one size fits all’ approach can be taken. Interestingly during public hearings, not a single foreign chamber of commerce was prepared to endorse the Bill.
The American Chamber of Commerce went as far to say it would be another ‘nail in the coffin’ for our economy. Similarly the department was unable to name a single corporation who was prepared to publicly put their name to the bill in support of it. How then do you create a bill that the very constituency you are trying to attract is so opposed to it?
However Minister Davies has really outdone himself when it comes to his handling of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), a unilateral, preferential trade agreement allowing duty free access for South Africa into the world’s biggest market, the USA.
This act is so important to South Africa’s already under siege farmers and manufactures, one would think that Minister Davies would have his finger on the pulse and be in the driving seat of negotiations pertaining to it. What he did however was outsource two key matters of contention, that of chicken quotas to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) and the issue of animal health and food safety rules to our state vets to solve.
As the Minister responsible for trade, it is he who should have led the charge to have the problems resolved. Instead he allowed each and every deadline to go down to the wire in an almost unexplainable game of brinkmanship with the USA. This form of ‘battle ships’ has cost South Africa dearly with President Obama putting South Africa on final terms in a letter to Congress. My colleague, Geordin Hill-Lewis is correct to say that Davies has bungled the negations. It is indeed the sign of a Minister who is totally out of touch with the priorities of trade for our country.
Under Minister Davies in 2015, our trade relationships have lurched from one disaster to another. We continue to provide uncertainty to prospective investors and seem hell bent on making anyone with a good idea life impossible to start up a business.
Our regulation regime makes it easier to start a business in war-torn Afghanistan than in South Africa and when it comes to accountability, DTI makes things up on the fly. Its time President Zuma gives a fig about our country and sends Minister Davies into retirement.
Dean Macpherson MP is DA Shadow Deputy Minister, Trade and Industry
