· Women empowerment : The DTI received the Top Award for best government department in women empowerment.

- 5.3. Bills introduced to Parliament

The DTI introduced the following Bills to Parliament by the end of the September 2013: · Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Bill · Co-operatives Amendment Bill · Lotteries Amendment Bill · Special Economic Zones Bill

- 5.4. Issues raised during the deliberations

The committee raised the issue of intellectual property (IP) and the potential challenges associated with the protection of indigenous knowledge (IK). The committee welcomed the publication of the Intellectual Property Policy document, as among others, it seeks to address the impediments that prevent access to affordable medication through the abuse of patents. A concern for the committee was that investment would not be forthcoming if the protection of IP is not secure. The DTI acknowledged the challenges it faced with respect to IP but that it should be seen in the context of a developing economy. With respect to generic medicine, South Africa’s involvement led to a breakthrough at the World Trade Organisation with South Africa potentially becoming a world leader in this regard. With respect to the IP Policy document, the DTI informed the committee that consultation was on-going and that inter-departmental co-ordination was critical. The DTI re-iterated its stance with respect to the current IP legislation in that it was a measure to prevent the loss of IK. The balance of payment position remains a concern for the committee. Although a number of policy interventions were implemented, the deficit continues to increase. The DTI informed the committee that the country’s largest vulnerable factor is the exchange rate. In order to the address the current account deficit, the proportion of exports earnings based on commodity goods had to be reduced, while increasing the reliance of exports earnings on manufactured goods. A large component of South Africa’s import basket (about 25 per cent) consisted of oil and petroleum products, with luxury goods and pharmaceutical products also being a major contributing factor. Government’s beneficiations initiatives should be pursued more aggressively as the export of raw materials and import of finished products was still prevalent. The committee also enquired about the role of the local government in relation to the incubator programmes. During the 2012/13 financial year, the committee had held public hearings and a colloquium on the impact of high administered prices, such as electricity tariffs and port charges, on the manufacturing sector. One of the outcomes of the colloquium was Transnet’s proposal for a new proposed tariff structure to be shared between shipping lines, cargo owners and tenants on a 21 per cent, 46 per cent and 33 per cent basis respectively. The proposal is aimed at ensuring that tariffs are aligned to international standards and increasing South Africa’s competitiveness with other international markets. Transnet also proposed the Beneficiation Promotion Programme. This programme seeks to promote increased beneficiation of goods, labour-intensive sectors, economic growth, and improvements in the competitiveness of South Africa’s metals sector and attract investments instead of the exportation of raw materials. This programme has been formulated in line with the IPAP, the National Development Plan, the Beneficiation Strategy for the Mineral Industry and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Metals Sector Strategy. Through this programme, Transnet proposed that cargo charges for labour-intensive products and value-added products are reduced according to the various stages of beneficiation. The