(AsgiSA) Annual Report 2008 - South African Government Information

Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
ANNUAL REPORT
2008
6.3 Details of progress made
In tourism, the review of the grading system was completed. The tourism HRD strategy was
presented to the Tourism Career Expo, which had 17 000 participants. The Tourism Charter
was drafted. The sector grew rapidly in the first half of 2008, but the latter half saw increasing
difficulties due to the international economic downturn, which led to a marked slowdown
in foreign visits to South Africa.
Implementation plans for afforestation in the Eastern Cape were completed and the process
of developing plans for KwaZulu-Natal got underway. A sector skills plan was submitted to
the DoL, and a draft policy on funding small growers was completed.
An obstacle to growth in this sector remained the special difficulties around water licensing.
More broadly, the industry seemed likely to suffer significantly from the economic downturn.
On the one hand, foreign demand for wood chips and paper shrank; on the other, a slowdown
in housing and mining construction affected the market for building timber.
Given the global economic crisis, BPO has a continuing potential to grow and create jobs
for unemployed young people in South Africa. It has shown growth in the order of 30% per
annum over the last five years. This growth is, however, likely to decline but remains in a
healthy 10% to 15% range. The sector has a potential to build an enabling environment for
job opportunities.
This is shown by encouraging results to date, which include the roll-out of the Government
Support and Assistance Programme for BPO, which attracted nine international investors,
with investments of over R900 million and the creation of at least 9 000 jobs. Three call
centres were established in the semi-urban areas designated for special support under the
programme. The first phase of the proposed training programme was completed and an innovative
employer-led and government-funded training programme for unemployed young
people was developed and piloted. The dti has begun to engage with the DoL on further
skills development programmes.
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