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On Thursday, I again wrote to the Minister of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Ebrahim Patel, calling on him and his Department to attend a Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism meeting. The meeting would outline their efforts to secure South Africa's inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) ahead of its reauthorisation in 2025.

I have since been informed that the letter has been received and was being brought to the Minister’s attention.

This letter follows DTIC’s refusal to account to and attend a Standing Committee meeting on AGOA which took place on 9 June 2023. Instead, they suggested that a similar meeting be convened at the NCOP level.

While the Standing Committee does not have oversight of DTIC, I have written to the Minister, again, in the spirit of cooperative governance and in the context of section 115 of the Constitution which empowers the Standing Committee to obtain information as may be necessary to execute its lawful mandate. Schedule 4 of the Constitution further identifies that agriculture, industrial promotion and trade are all matters in which the province has concurrent competence with the national government.

With 5 out of the top 10 South African exports under AGOA originating in the Western Cape, the province stands to be the hardest hit by AGOA exclusion. The Standing Committee must exercise proper oversight and represent the interests of the Western Cape’s residents. Attendance at an NCOP will simply not meet our need for direct engagement on this issue which affects agriculture, industrial promotion, and trade.

I am expecting a response from the Minister by 23 June. We cannot stand back and watch as our residents’ lives and livelihoods hang in the balance due to a lack of transparency and abysmal foreign policy decisions.

Issued by Cayla Murray, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism