Proudly South African (Proudly SA), the country’s national Buy Local advocacy campaign, has today (08 September 2022) released the results of a study which they commissioned, aimed at unpacking the country’s manufacturing sector and the impact of localisation, as well as the multiplier effect, thereof, on the economy.

1. The South African Manufacturing Sector. An overview of the country’s manufacturing sector which includes data on global competitiveness, labour force, GDP contribution, challenges faced by the sector, as well as environmental impact.
2. Localisation and Government Procurement. Dissects key manufacturing sub-sectors and their skills intensity and the potential for job creation.
3. Modelling the Manufacturing Sector in the South African Economy. Here, researchers demonstrate simulations of the job creation and multiplier effect of investments into various sectors, sub-sectors, and industries.
4. Policy Implications and the Way Forward. Unpacks effective public private partnership imperatives which can bring about infrastructure provisions as well as management of sector-specific dynamics.

Says Proudly SA CEO, Eustace Mashimbye, “For many years we’ve sought to provide factual data on the impact of localisation on job creation and the economy at large. We are grateful to Dr Abedian and his team for providing us with facts that demonstrate the relationship between localisation and the critical imperatives, such as economic growth, job creation, as well as, of course, the various interventions required of private and public stakeholders in this regard.

Some of the highlights in the report include the positive impact of increased investment in domestic manufacturing (and its various subsectors) on key indicators such as the GDP, employment creation (direct, indirect and jobs in the informal economy), fiscal revenue, real wages and consumer inflation.

Increased manufacturing activity and deliberate investment in manufacturing, driven by a clear localisation drive will also have a strong impact on the services, construction, trade, transport, communications and finance sectors. The report highlights the fact that even if the investment envisaged is directly into manufacturing sectors, forward and backward-linked services sectors also benefit substantially due to the multiplier effects of the circular flow.

The full report is available via this link: https://bit.ly/PSAResearch2022