JOHANNESBURG: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to stop relying on imports and buy more locally manufactured products, to help support job creation.
He also says local producers should ensure the highest quality of their products so that they are internationally competitive. Ramaphosa was speaking in Sandton yesterday where dozens of small business owners, buyers and possible investors, gathered for the 2016 Proudly South African Buy Local Summit and Expo.
Ramaphosa says buying locally made goods will help reduce unemployment and make sure more South Africans earn decent wages. He says in the end this helps form an economic zone. “When you buy locally made goods it increases the level of employments and means local people get jobs.”
Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu told delegates that Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) could play a more significant role in the economy, if given the right support.
“South Africa’s economy can grow by five percent over the next five years if government and the private sector can invest R12 billion in 300,000 small businesses.” Both Ramaphosa and Zulu have challenged South Africans to buy products made in this country.
