WITH challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the manufacturing sector, Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro led a session that seeks to revitalize the country’s export manufacturing sector on Thursday, in partnership with the World Bank and USAID.

The event brought public and private sector leaders and development partners together to discuss the challenges, opportunities and reform priorities for the sector.

The session was hosted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in partnership with the World Bank, USAID Southern Africa Trade as well as Investment Hub.

The export manufacturing value chain is one of the priority sectors identified by the government and therefore, accelerated implementation of priority reforms are critical for stimulating economic recovery, increasing investment and enabling job creation.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the textile and apparel industry has been adversely affected by the pandemic and the associated lockdowns with firms experiencing declining or cancelled orders, revenue losses and workers being retrenched or transferred to short-term contracts.

The pandemic has exposed underlying challenges that are stifling the export competitiveness of the sector which the ministry says will need to be addressed swiftly in order to benefit from the current transformation of the global manufacturing value chains.