Page 45 - Demo

Overview of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (OPRE %u2013 2025/26)in Q4. For the 2024 full year, the sector%u2019s output and employment declined by -6.5 and -6 per cent, respectively. The short-to-medium term outlook for the sector remains positive judged by the latest Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index for Quarter 4, 2024. The basis for the positive outlook relates to the expected favourable weather conditions from La Ni%u00f1a rains for the 2024-25 agricultural season, stable and improving energy supply and port efficiency and stable energy prices and other input costs. Manufacturing: Manufacturing is one of the key sectors in the province that the government has targeted for significant employment creation as well as economic growth support. However, the sector is saddled by the declining industrial base and low private fixed investments. Manufacturing output in the province declined by a marginal -0.1 per cent in Q4 of 2024 following two quarters of growth in Q3 and Q2. The decline in Q4 mostly affected vehicle and transport components manufacturing. Despite the marginal decline in Q4 output, overall employment across provincial manufacturing increased by a massive 32 per cent for full year in 2024, bringing total employment to about 139 000 across Eastern Cape manufacturing industries Figure 1.18: Manufacturing Sector Performance, 2008-2024 There are various policies and programmes developed at the national level to revive the declining manufacturing sector. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition with various institutions are partnering with the provincial governments to revive the declining industrial base. The Eastern Cape government will have to be robust and adopt various approaches in partnership with private sector to boost investment in the manufacturing sector especially, where the province has a comparative advantage. Source: Quantec & Stats SA, 2024 Construction Following two quarters of growth, construction activities in the province decreased marginally in Q4 of 2024, reflecting a downswing in residential and non-residential building activities despite robust growth in civil construction activities. Due to its high labour intensity, the sector employs a significant share of workers in the province, estimated at 126 000 workers in Q4 of 2024. The construction industry of the province is mainly driven by government capital projects, mainly in health, education, water, transport and housing, and private sector initiative in the residential and commercial property building projects. The value chain of the construction industry is extensive and labour intensive, hence government partnership with private sector will always be crucial for growth and employment creation. 0204060801001201402008q1 2008q4 2009q3 2010q2 2011q1 2011q4 2012q3 2013q2 2014q1 2014q4 2015q3 2016q2 2017q1 2017q4 2018q3 2019q2 2020q1 2020q4 2021q3 2022q2 2023q1 2023q4 2024q3EC Manufacturing Output EC Employment24