The troubled sector has pinned its hopes for survival on the five-year bailout and is awaiting Cabinet consideration of the request. Trade and Industry Minister Dorcas Makgato-Malesu recently revealed that while Cabinet rejected the initial request last year, it would be resubmitted together with a long-term strategy for the sector. In a working paper made available this week, BIDPA researchers, Masedi Motswapong and Roman Grynberg said the collapse of textile and clothing exports to the US and the European Union in recent years had made the sector's future "highly questionable".
"The sector has benefited from trade preferences and it remains to be seen whether it can survive without such preferences," the two researchers said."Government needs to first address whether the sector will survive the inevitable further erosion of trade preferences and if so, the interventions need to be revised and focused on those firms best able to survive in the longer term."
