South Africa: Select Committee on Trade Calls for More Jobs and Increased Investment Delivery at COEGA Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

The Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade has called for an urgent conversion of long-standing investment commitments into tangible jobs, exports and industrial output at Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The committee is currently conducting a weeklong oversight visit in the Gqeberha area to assess infrastructure networks around the Coega SEZ and the Markman Industrial Park.

The committee Chairperson, Ms Sonja Boshoff, said a key focus of the visit was the progress of large-scale strategic projects, including the green hydrogen and green ammonia initiative. “These projects have attracted strong international interest and have advanced to the engineering and planning phase. The committee has requested firm timelines for construction, local beneficiation and industrial participation. We cannot have a situation where such infrastructure projects are perpetually kept in plans and reports. We want urgent implementation.”

Ms Boshoff emphasised that announcements and ribbon-cuttings are no longer sufficient, stating: “Government has invested heavily to create the enabling environment. The private sector has made commitments. The time has now come to see operational results, with real jobs, local procurement opportunities and improved export performance. Coega must be more than a strategic asset on paper; it must be a driver of inclusive growth in reality.”

Coega is South Africa’s largest SEZ and has received R4.2 billion in funding from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, of which R2.5 billion has already been disbursed. This makes it one of the largest public investments in industrial infrastructure in the country.

This state funding has enabled Coega to attract R12.5 billion in private-sector investment from both domestic and international companies, positioning the SEZ as one of the most significant public-private partnerships in South Africa’s industrialisation programme. The committee made it clear that these partnerships must now translate into measurable outcomes – factories in operation, products being exported and South Africans being employed at scale.

“Similarly, the Coega Pharmaceutical and Vaccine Manufacturing Precinct, supported by Aspen Pharmacare, has been identified as a key driver of Africa’s health sovereignty. While Aspen’s existing facility in Gqeberha is operational, the broader pharmaceutical precinct within Coega remains in early development. We have requested clarity on investor readiness, infrastructure timelines and projected job creation,” Ms Boshoff said.

She also noted that the visit comes at a time when the Eastern Cape faces one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, exceeding 40%, and is confronting additional economic strain from recent retrenchments in the automotive sector, including the closure of the Goodyear plant in Kariega.

Ms Boshoff stressed that the Coega SEZ must be actively positioned to absorb economic shocks and drive resilience. “This SEZ cannot exist in isolation. It must be the engine room that drives industrial diversification, attracts new investment and safeguards South African jobs in the face of global economic uncertainty,” she said.

In addition to monitoring the national department’s investment, the committee engaged with the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Eastern Cape Economic Development Agency to assess their contribution to investment attraction, provincial competitiveness and integration of township and rural economies into SEZ value chains.

The committee also called for a proactive response to global trade disruptions, including the recent announcement by the US administration of a proposed 30% export tax, which could affect South African manufactured exports. “Detailed mitigation strategies will be required to assure investors and protect South African jobs,” the Chairperson said.

Chairperson Boshoff concluded: “Coega is a test case for South Africa’s ability to compete globally. With strong public investment, growing private participation and strategic sector opportunities in green energy and pharmaceuticals, this SEZ has every ingredient for success. What we expect now is delivery, delivery in jobs, delivery in exports, delivery in industrial capacity, and delivery for the people of South Africa.”

The committee will be in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality until Thursday.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.