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The devastating announcement from ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) of 3 500 immediate job losses, with up to 100 000 more forecast across related sectors, underscores the urgent need for South Africa to overhaul its industrial policies.

Without bold and innovative changes, our economy will remain in a downward spiral, and the unemployment crisis will deepen.

Expressions of concern from the government are not enough. Empty rhetoric and inaction within the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition have allowed this situation to worsen. A last-minute bail out of AMSA by the IDC will only prolong the pain.

It is time for decisive leadership and legislative reforms that create an enabling environment for economic growth and job creation. This will have more far-reaching impact than trying to pick winners and pandering to vested interests.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) championed evidence-based solutions in our Enterprising Economy policy document released last year. Our proposals are designed to drive sustained economic growth and address unemployment by:

Reforming labour legislation to make it easier for businesses to hire and create jobs, while protecting workers' rights;

Simplifying and streamlining regulations to foster small business growth and encourage entrepreneurship;

Promoting industrial diversification by incentivising innovation and investment in high-growth sectors, such as green technologies, advanced manufacturing and value-added services;

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) through investor-friendly policies and ensuring policy certainty to build business confidence;

Upgrading trade policies to ensure competitiveness in global markets while protecting key industries that feed global supply chains;

Abandoning the unworkable and divisive BBBEE scorecard and replacing it with a new set of socio-economic outcomes to aim at, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are universally accepted by business.

Instead of lamenting factory closures and economic decline, we call on the government to adopt these practical and achievable reforms. They will take time to implement, and care must be taken to avoid short-term economic shocks.

The DTIC must send a clear signal of its willingness and intent to carve out a new industrial policy framework.

South Africa cannot afford to remain trapped in outdated industrial policies that stifle growth and perpetuate unemployment. The time to act is now.

Issued by Toby Chance MP - DA Spokesperson on Trade, Industry & Competition