SOUTH-AFRICA REVISED INDUSTRIAL INCENTIVES - AN ASSESSMENT

Central to South Africa's regional economic policy has been the subsidization of industrialists locating in or adjacent to areas reserved for Black people. Since 1960, rising subsidies were offered in an attempt to boost employment, curbing Black urbanization. From 1968, physical controls on industrial expansion were added in core areas Like the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) region. Until May 1991, incentives were calculated as a proportion of operating costs. They were intended to compensate industrialists for operating in uncompetitive locations. Over the years, decentralization policy was criticized for ineffectiveness and waste. This led to the introduction of a profit-based incentive scheme on 1 May 1991. In this article, a preliminary assessment of the revised policy is offered. Prospects of an overall industrial policy, replacing industrial decentralization, are considered. Post-election developments are updated.