Hon Chairperson, hon Members of Parliament, hon Ministers, the ANC welcomes and supports the Special Economic Zones Bill, especially during this important month in which we are celebrating the achievements made by women of this country. Challenges remain, and some of the elements of this Bill seek to ensure that we redress some of those imbalances. Furthermore, we must take note that 17 August 2013 marked 31 years since the brutal killing of the late Ruth First; hence the strategic importance of the Bill in terms of addressing the plight of women.
The special economic zones will be able to overcome many of the limitations of the industrial development zones, IDZs, which have had greater industrial challenges. One of the serious challenges is to ensure that we attract investment through foreign direct investment. But, the SEZs can now expand on the scope and impact of the IDZs.
The SEZs will accelerate economic growth; promote investment into less developed areas; promote investment to enhance the manufacturing sector; and promote job creation.
I want to focus on rural development. We all know that, for a number of historical reasons, the rural areas have been marginalised and investment has focused on the areas that were normally referred to as EWV areas. This Bill seeks to ensure that we redress some of those particular imbalances created by the apartheid government.
However, let me point out that the success of the SEZs also depends on the level of co-ordination between various government departments. The Special Economic Zones Bill allows for ownership of SEZs by provincial governments and local municipalities.
With regard to rural development, one of the limiting factors of the IDZs was that they could not be established near ports and airports, and that automatically excluded all the rural areas. The newly introduced SEZs will tackle the issue of development in rural areas because they can be established anywhere in the country.
The Department of Trade and Industry, DTI, proposed 15 locations designated for SEZs in eight of the nine provinces in our country. Those proposed locations are in the less developed areas of the country, including Musina, Tubatse and Komatipoort in Limpopo; Harrismith in the Free State; and the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, just to mention a few. Six of the 15 proposed SEZs are into agro processing, the sector which is the main contributor to employment in rural areas and to the employment of semi-skilled and unskilled labour. The proposed SEZs in the agro processing sector are in line with proposals from a particular municipality in the Eastern Cape for the designation of SEZs in the agro processing sector. This is an attempt to ensure that we also embark on a paradigm shift because, normally, we have been focussing on what was referred to as a nodal approach to development, which has led to a number of people in rural areas migrating to the city. This is something that this country cannot afford.
The establishment of the SEZs in rural areas is in line with the support of our country's employment initiatives, especially ragarding women, youth and people with disabilities. But, central to that, is the issue of black economic empowerment, which is a non-negotiable issue. We cannot establish SEZs exclusively for a particular group of people who benefitted in the past at the exclusion of the majority.
The participation of people in rural areas, women, the youth and people with disabilities in economic activity is the ANC-led government's agenda. The designation of SEZs in rural areas brings the reality to this particular agenda. The creation of decent work and other socioeconomic benefits in the region where the SEZ is located, promotes skills and technology transfer.
Despite the move towards promoting greater employment, government recognises that human resources are this country's most important asset. Therefore, it should be noted that government will not compromise regarding the reduction of labour standards which are coded as labour market flexibility. A number of people have confirmed that our labour standards are consistent with some of the International Labour Organisation's, ILO's. Therefore, there is no basis for workers to be subjected to slavery conditions during this particular dispensation.
With regard to encouraging co-ordination between government and the private sector, another challenge for the IDZs was the lack of co-ordination between the various levels of government. The Special Economic Zones Bill addresses this by better co-ordination and clearly defined collaboration between government and the private sector.
The involvement of government in such designated areas for development is paramount. The ANC once more supports the Bill. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]