The Ministry of Trade and Industry says they are not “dragging its feet” with the process of designating Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Atlantis.
The chairperson of the SEZs advisory board, Dr Julian Naidoo, says the messages carried in various media sources appears to be aimed at applying undue pressure on the advisory board and ultimately forcing the Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies to designate the Atlantis SEZ. Naidoo says the disinformation spread over the given period attempts to portray potential victimisation and prejudice towards the Western Cape Province.
The proposed Atlantis SEZ is one of 10 initiatives agreed to by the Economic MinMEC, which comprise of the Ministers’ of Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development and the provincial MECs responsible for Economic Development.
“The advice given is based on a range of commercial, technical and legal considerations whose purpose is to ensure the long-term economic viability of the proposed SEZ and also in compliance with relevant legal requirements,” said Naidoo.
According to him, the technical sub-committee of the advisory board has considered the application for the designation of the Atlantis SEZ and concluded that there are technical weaknesses and legal compliance challenges that had to be addressed.
“Instead of advising the Minister not to designate based on these weaknesses, the board advised and gave the province the chance to address these weaknesses. In addition, the Department has provided both technical and financial support to the province to assist it to address these weaknesses.
