South Africa's economic dominance in Africa and in the southern African region is an accepted fact but its role in the continent has long been contested. South Africa's member ship of the G20 brought with it expectations from some quarters that it would represent Africa within that grouping. The recent admission of South Africa into the BRIC(S) came with many discussions and debates on South Africa's role as a 'gateway' into Africa. But what does this actually mean? Three possibilities have been mooted: “First, multinational companies could use South Africa as a hub for regional headquarters, utilising our superior services infrastructure to co-ordinate their regional activities. Second, multinationals and South African corporates could take advantage of our relatively advanced transport and distribution networks. Third, companies could use South Africa as a sourcing hub.” However, as South Africa struggles with chronic unemployment and poverty problems, questions arise as to the potential and possibility of South Africa being a gateway into Africa. In an effort to unravel the issues, SAIIA and TIPS have come together for this dialogue which will reflect the views of government, business and labour.

SAIIA and TIPS have come together to create a platform for the discussion of the abovementioned issue.

About the presenters:

Peter Draper's current domestic affiliations include: Senior Research Fellow in the Economic Diplomacy programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs; Adjunct Professor at Wits Business School; Programme Director of the think tank consortium at the Centre for Development and Enterprise; and Research Associate of the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria. His current international affiliations include: board member of the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis; non-resident senior fellow of the Brussels-based European Centre for International Political Economy; chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Trade; and member of the World Economic Survey Expert Group coordinated by the Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

Dianna Games is an independent consultant and researcher on African business. Since 2004, she has been CEO
of Africa At Work, a company that covers a range of services linked to business in Africa, and she has had a
number of research reports published. Her advisory and research work has included engagements by Nepad,
Comesa, Development Bank of Southern Africa, South African Institute for International Affairs, Brenthurst Foundation, United Nations, Gordon Institute for Business Science as well as international companies in South, Southern and West Africa. She is also the Honorary Chief Executive of the SA-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and
a columnist on African issues for Business Day newspaper

Competition policy is playing an increasingly significant role in the trade and investment environment in South Africa. According to a 2010 IMF report, there is a high degree of product market restrictiveness in South Africa that is partly exacerbated by anti-competitive behaviour in the markets. This is regarded as being highly trade restrictive.
Also, the recent Wal-Mart/Massmart case brought under closer scrutiny the link between investment, competition and trade policy. It highlighted the potential use of competition policy as a vehicle for industrial policy and other domestic economic objectives. Can governments use competition policy to stimulate the growth and development of certain sectors, including through investment, and would this be compatible with the rules of the international trading system?  In addition to creating a conducive policy environment, there are other direct measures used by the government to attract investment from both domestic and international sources.  As is the case with many other developing countries, SA seeks to boost investment through a variety of incentive schemes that operate at the local, provincial and national level.   These incentives have been put in place to support the various economic development objectives of SA.  What type of incentives are being offered?  How effective are they?
 
SAIIA, TIPS and Tralac have come together to create a platform for the discussion of these issues. Trudi Hartzenberg, from Tralac, will present on the interlink between competition, investment and trade policy in South Africa.  Lesley Wentworth, an independent consultant for SAIIA will scope out the range of investment incentives currently being offered in  South Africa. 

William Mbuta was the Science and Technology Development Officer at the National Science and Technology Council of Zambia before becoming assistant general manager in the area of policy research at a Chamber of Mines; he them worked at the SADC Secretariat where he was Programme Officer – Industrial Policy at the between 2007 and 2010. William is now an independent consultant based in Lusaka.
Willam has prepared a working paper for TIPS on the theme which he will discuss at the seminar. William's working paper can be found on web-site home page (www.tips.org.za)

Trudi Hartzenberg is the Executive Director of the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (tralac). She is an economist specialised in trade, industrial and competition policy, regional integration and industrial organisation. She has taught at a number of Universities in South Africa as well as abroad, in Denmark. She has worked on assignment for a number of international institutions including the IMF, African Development Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Paul Kruger is a tralac researcher with special interests in trade negotiations, behind the border trade issues, industry competitiveness and sustainable development. He is a qualified lawyer and has been involved in a wide range of regional and international trade and trade related projects.

Tralac's research report and related policy brief on which the presentation will be based can also be found on our web-site home page (www.tips.org.za).

In 2005, India introduced the world's first employment guarantee, creating new meaning for the concept of a right to work. This is achieved through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, established through an act of parliament (NREGA), which gives every rural household the right to demand 100 days of employment (manual labour) per year at a minimum wage. With over 55 million participants, NREGA has become one of the largest poverty programmes in history. Since 2006, it has provided over two billion person-days of work – 48% of which have gone to women. It also includes real innovation in the use of transparency mechanisms to combat corruption. As a vital part of the campaign that saw India's government re-elected in 2009, it has also become politically unassailable.

But this programme is by no means perfect. It has struggled to ensure downward accountability to poor people, and to build an awareness of the rights in the Act at grassroots level; it has not always been able to overcome bureaucratic resistance, or to deepen intended collaboration with civil society. Design flaws have created problems (although several have been remedied). And yet its achievements are massive enough to make it an important example of innovation in poverty reduction as well as employment creation.

Professor James Manor holds the Anyaoku Chair at London University's Institute of Commonwealth Studies, a school that he previously directed. He has done research in South Africa and four other African countries, but he is mainly an India specialist. He and Professor Rob Jenkins in New York have done extensive field research on NREGA in villages and state capitals in India since 2007; they have worked with the ministry that administers this programme, and are in the process of completing a book on the subject.