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Eastern Cape economy growing faster than population
Posted on: Wednesday, 17 March 2004. Article source: The Herald
The Eastern Cape economy has grown significantly faster than its population for six consecutive years, says Finance and Provincial Expenditure MEC Enoch Godongwana.
He said that while the average economic growth in the province between 1996 and 2002 had been 2,1 per cent compared with the national average of 2,8 per cent, total population growth had only been one per cent over this period.
He said that the province had made significant progress during this period, largely because economic growth had outstripped population growth.
The tertiary sector had shown the fastest growth followed by the manufacturing sector with the automotive sub-sector accounting for more than one quarter of manufacturing growth in 2002. The sub-sector had grown at a rate of 3,8 per cent between 1996 and 2002.
Construction had also done well with it accounting for 11 per cent of secondary output and by growing at an annual average rate of 1,4% per cent over the same period.
He also highlighted exports which had peaked at 250 per cent in 2001, making the province with the fastest growing exports. Exports in the transport sub-sector that included the motor industry had increased by more than 55 per cent between 1999 and 2000 while textile and metal exports grew by 28 and 17 per cent a year respectively.
In the transport equipment sub-sector, imports were 1,6 times the value of exports in 2002, “which reflects the extent to which the automotive sector had become an integral part of the global supply chain.”
He said that this spectacular growth in exports reflects the success of instruments such as the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) and underpins a key industrial development strategy in the Eastern Cape – to promote export-orientated manufacturing through investment in IDZ infrastructure.
“Together with national government, we have succeeded in building a more conducive environment for investment and growth, not just for green-field investments but also for the so-called brown-field investments or expansion of existing industries, and not just for exports but also for industries with strong inward linkages.”
He said that while the average economic growth in the province between 1996 and 2002 had been 2,1 per cent compared with the national average of 2,8 per cent, total population growth had only been one per cent over this period.
He said that the province had made significant progress during this period, largely because economic growth had outstripped population growth.
The tertiary sector had shown the fastest growth followed by the manufacturing sector with the automotive sub-sector accounting for more than one quarter of manufacturing growth in 2002. The sub-sector had grown at a rate of 3,8 per cent between 1996 and 2002.
Construction had also done well with it accounting for 11 per cent of secondary output and by growing at an annual average rate of 1,4% per cent over the same period.
He also highlighted exports which had peaked at 250 per cent in 2001, making the province with the fastest growing exports. Exports in the transport sub-sector that included the motor industry had increased by more than 55 per cent between 1999 and 2000 while textile and metal exports grew by 28 and 17 per cent a year respectively.
In the transport equipment sub-sector, imports were 1,6 times the value of exports in 2002, “which reflects the extent to which the automotive sector had become an integral part of the global supply chain.”
He said that this spectacular growth in exports reflects the success of instruments such as the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) and underpins a key industrial development strategy in the Eastern Cape – to promote export-orientated manufacturing through investment in IDZ infrastructure.
“Together with national government, we have succeeded in building a more conducive environment for investment and growth, not just for green-field investments but also for the so-called brown-field investments or expansion of existing industries, and not just for exports but also for industries with strong inward linkages.”
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