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DRAFT WHITE PAPER ON THE LONG TERM STRATEGY FOR THE SACU TEXTILES & CLOTHING SECTOR

Chapter 1 Background

1. 1.1 Introduction The Meeting of the SACU Ministers of Trade and Industry, which was held on 29 March 2007 in Walvis Bay, Namibia, decided that a study should be commissioned on the Textiles and Clothing Sector of the sub-region. The objective of such a study would be to facilitate understanding of the dynamics of the Sector; make recommendations for future SACU-wide strategies for the Sector and propose an appropriate incentive scheme that could infuse competitiveness and facilitate the sustainability of the Sector. The 10th Meeting of the SACU Council of Ministers subsequently endorsed this decision on 20 April 2007 in Pigg's Peak, Swaziland. Gherzi Textil Organisation (AG) of Switzerland was appointed to implement the study and embarked on the task in December 2008. The final report of the study was discussed by the SACU Member States at a workshop held on 4-5 March 2010 in Windhoek, Namibia. One of the key outcomes of the workshop was that an Ad Hoc Technical Committee would be constituted to draft a white paper that would highlight key issues faced by the Sector, based on the report of the study and Member States‟ priorities. Furthermore, the Ad Hoc Technical Committee would propose a clear way forward for the long term strategy of the SACU Textiles and Clothing Sector and an incentive scheme to replace the Duty Credit Certificate Scheme (DCCS) and the Textiles and Clothing Interim Development Programme (TCIDP). The meeting agreed that the Ad Hoc Technical Committee would report to the SACU Task Team on Textiles and Clothing (STTTC) on its work. Below is the white paper that has been prepared by the SACU Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Textiles and Clothing. An overview of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the SACU Textiles and Clothing Sector The final report of the study indicates that Textiles and Clothing occupy a strategic...