ASSOCIATIONS
Resuscitating South Africa ’ s ailing plumbing manufacturing industry
7
By
David Poggiolini for IOPSA
The proposed Water and Sanitation Industrialisation Master Plan aims to arrest years of erosion of South African capacity to design and manufacture competitively priced , quality plumbing products for both the local and international markets .
Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies ’ ( TIPS ) extensive research into the status of the water and sanitation value chain , as well as the South African plumbing industry form the basis of this Master Plan . This includes TIPS ’ most recent findings into South Africa ’ s ability to design , manufacture and supply competitively priced , quality water and sanitation products . The report has identified many challenges that local manufacturers of water and sanitation products face and suggests solutions to resuscitate the industry . It complements the Department of Water and Sanitation ’ s National Water and Sanitation Master Plan that was released in 2018 . These policy documents are also intended to be used together with master plans that have already been developed for the reindustrialisation of the plastics , steel , and chemicals value chains .
The findings of these reports and the proposed drafting of a Water and Sanitation Industrialisation Master Plan have been well received by the Institute of Plumbing South Africa ( IOPSA ). “ Like so many other South African industries , the plumbing supply chain has undergone significant de-industrialisation over the years . This has resulted in major losses in semi-skilled and skilled jobs , in addition to skills development and training opportunities , exacerbating already-high unemployment in the country . The dire situation also impedes our ability to innovate in a country that needs unique solutions to help better manage our severe water and sanitation crises . As our factories have gradually closed their doors and been replaced with warehouses full of goods that are manufactured in other countries , there has also been a rise in the use of sub-standard products . This places consumers , property and municipal assets at risk , while seriously exacerbating our water and sanitation challenges . We need a robust strategy to arrest the decimation and I believe that this masterplan articulates it very well . Of course , now we need to implement its suggestions . This requires significant effort from all stakeholders in both the private and public sectors ,” Brendan Reynolds , executive director of IOPSA , says .
The biggest threats to local manufacturers of plumbing products are cheap imports because of practices such as dumping , underinvoicing , mis-declaration and the general undervaluing of imported goods . It is almost impossible for local manufacturers to compete against these products , and many have , therefore , had to close their doors . For example , only two South African borehole pump manufacturers are still operating under these difficult conditions . The other 10 have closed because they simply could not compete on this very unlevel playing field . This sector is being devastated in the same way that was done to the country ’ s taps , as well as copper or brass compression fittings manufacturers . South Africa no longer manufactures any of these products . They are all imported .
A robust South African Revenue Service ( SARS ) will help to curtail these fraudulent practices . The masterplan , therefore , suggests urgently staffing SARS with the resources and skills that it needs to investigate these cases and verify underinvoicing , mis-declaration , general undervaluing of imported goods and dumping .
Plumbing Africa Rory Macnamara
Brendan Reynolds .
There is also a need to address poor monitoring and policing of municipal procurement practices , as well as enforcement of Broad- Based Black Economic Empowerment ( B-BBEE ) codes of good practice . This is considering that many companies are bypassing local content requirements and supplying cheap imported designated and regular goods to municipalities . Worse still , many of these imported products are of a very poor quality . They therefore breakdown regularly , leading to downtime that hinders municipal service delivery , while repair and replacement costs place an additional financial burden on already-stretched municipal budgets . These practices also deprive local manufacturers of the support that they need to innovate to
January 2023 Volume 28 I Number 11 www . plumbingafrica . co . za