Seifsa, the Manufacturing Circle and Polasa said Treasury should clarify remarks attributed to its director-general that manufacturing is unlikely to drive South Africa’s future job growth.
The groups said the comments clash with government’s long-standing industrial policy, warning that mixed signals from a key economic institution could unsettle investors and manufacturers making long-term decisions.
More than a decade of rising electricity costs, logistics failures, infrastructure bottlenecks, municipal decline and policy uncertainty — not just global shifts — has already constrained factory investment, competitiveness and employment, they said.
The bodies urged coherent action on public procurement reform, infrastructure investment and industrial competitiveness, arguing South Africa must back manufacturing with predictable policy as other countries strengthen their own industrial bases.