Rural development agency pleased with focus on key sectors.

AsgiSA Eastern Cape (EC) chief executive officer Simpiwe Somdyala has described the national budget speech by finance minister Pravin Gordhan as "positive and pragmatic." More importantly, the speech spelt out how jobs will be created by, amongst others, targeting job creating industries as defined in the industrial strategy."

Somdyala says AsgiSA EC is pleased with the focus on agriculture, forestry and value adding industries. The focus on rural development focuses on the rejuvenation of the economy and rural areas are part of this process. It positions rural communities not as recipients of social grants, but as active drivers of rural development," says Somdyala.