At the State of the Province address, Premier Zikalala shared that unemployment in KwaZulu-Natal had increased from 23% to an even more alarming 28.7%.
This makes sense after the past two years of the pandemic and the unfortunate KZN unrest.
However, some sort of hope could be restored by the Trade and Investment sector.
After their three-day Trade and Investment Indaba held last week, they announced huge opportunities for the Halaal industry in South Africa.
KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay shared that 55-60% of the KZN economy was located in eThekwini, which had infrastructure that gave it a competitive advantage to manufacture Halaal products.
He further shared that his department is already in discussions with international and South African-based companies to explore ways to further meet the growing demands of this market.
“The halaal sector has created more than 12 000 jobs South Africa in the space of three years. KZN is indeed open for business in the halal market and is best positioned to cater for the niche market needs” Pillay continued.
This is definitely exciting news, especially in terms of alleviating those who lost their businesses and jobs during the pandemic.
The MEC encouraged everyone to put themselves out there for these opportunities.
“You don’t have to be Muslim, but [you] need to learn what it takes to be able to qualify to supply the Halaal market.â€
In total, the Halaal industry has invested R197-billion since 2019 in various business sectors, which is expected to produce more than 450,000 jobs in KwaZulu-Natal over a period of five years.
We can only hope that this truly happens!
