South Africa’s economic crisis is no longer a matter of abstract debate; it is a grinding reality for thousands of businesses trying to maintain their operations in an increasingly hostile environment. With manufacturing capacity steadily eroding and global competitors aggressively entering our market, the need for agile, responsive and pro-growth reform has never been more urgent. It was with a profound sense of anticipation that the business community awaited the department of trade, industry & competition’s (DTIC’s) newly released “South Africa’s Industrial Development Strategy 2026″ (IDS). While we acknowledge the IDS’s genuine alignment with business priorities, we had hoped for a course correction that recognises the severe capacity constraints in the state. We had hoped for a commitment to accelerating the support systems our crucial industries desperately require. (Karen Moolman) Instead, what we have been handed is a profound disappointment. Granted, the IDS acknowledges past failures, noting that “post-1994 reforms liberalised trade but faced slow growth, high unemployment and deindustrialisation” and that “past liberalisation without targeted support led to uneven sector performance”. It also notes the DTIC’s budget dropped 40% (in real terms) from 2013/14 to 2025/26, a staggering admission of institutional decline.What the IDS fails to do is spell out how the DTIC will reform its own internal operations. It ignores the state’s inability to execute. Over the past decade we have watched the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP steadily hollow out. This deindustrialisation was not an inevitable force of nature. Rather, it is the direct consequence of a government apparatus that is agonisingly slow and inadequately capacitated to respond to the rapidly shifting needs of modern industry.It has been reported that the cabinet recently approved this renewed strategy. How could the executive branch approve something that promises the world regarding decarbonisation, digitalisation and diversification yet fails to address the glaring administrative bottlenecks that paralyse industrial support and chase away investment? The business community is not opposed to government partnership. In fact, our industrial champions ― from the vehicle sector to agriculture and steel ― rely on a functional, capable state to thrive. They have spent decades building local supply chains, investing billions in fixed capital and embracing transformation targets. They recognise the value of sectoral strategies, targeted tax incentives and state-backed financial support schemes. But a plan is only as good as the state’s capacity to implement it. The DTIC creates complex incentive schemes that take years to process, leaving businesses stranded in regulatory limbo. The fundamental concern is not with the DTIC supporting the industry, but rather with the operational inefficiencies that severely hinder its capacity to do so.What the IDS fails to do is spell out how the DTIC will reform its own internal operations. It ignores the state’s inability to execute. When a large manufacturer requires urgent regulatory certainty to unlock a new production line or needs swift processing of an investment incentive to fend off global competition, they are met with a wall of administrative silence and bureaucratic red tape. Capital goes where it is welcomed and where processes are predictable. When boardrooms in Stuttgart, Tokyo or Johannesburg, for that matter, are deciding whether to invest in South Africa, Egypt or Vietnam, they look at the speed of our government. Right now our sluggishness, rigidity and bureaucracy are actively driving investment away.Business has previously advocated for a whole-of-government approach led by the DTIC and for harmonising policies between departments and sectors. Rather than creating new structures such as the proposed presidential oversight committee, we believe the Treasury could make funding conditional on measurable cross-department execution. What is urgently needed is to reform the DTIC’s internal capacity and to streamline the agonisingly slow application processes for industrial support. A committee cannot mandate global competitiveness, nor can it process an incentive application faster.One of the DTIC’s most significant historical failures is its remarkably poor record of easing market access for our exporters. For our large manufacturers to scale they need frictionless access to global markets. Yet, our efforts have been woeful. The IDS explicitly references trade diplomacy instruments such as African Growth and Opportunity Act negotiations, African Continental Free Trade Area integration, and EU-South Africa partnerships (including Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism alignment and Clean Trade and Investment Partnership), which are important opportunities. However, besides signing the China-Africa Economic Partnership Agreement in February, the DTIC is not doing enough to proactively open new, high-growth markets for South African products. While other developing nations are aggressively negotiating bilateral trade agreements that give their manufacturers a competitive edge, we are lagging. Right now our sluggishness, rigidity and bureaucracy are actively driving investment away.The department has also been painfully slow in deploying antidumping measures and tariffs to protect our domestic vehicle and steel manufacturers from the flood of heavily subsidised, cheap imports gutting our local industries. According to analysts, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa has failed to review nearly 94% of import tariffs it first approved more than 20 years ago. These delays frustrate importers and local manufacturers alike, weakening their responsiveness to changing market conditions. A potentially positive aspect of the strategy is the reference to an omnibus bill, which, if drafted by competent policymakers, could hopefully reduce unacceptable bureaucratic delays and foster private sector growth.For this omnibus bill to have any meaningful impact it must be wielded as a legislative tool to ruthlessly cut red tape. It must radically simplify the compliance burdens that delay projects, streamline the disbursement of industrial incentives, and force the DTIC to operate at the speed of business. It should mandate statutory turnaround times for government approvals, giving our large industrial players the certainty they need to invest.The window for South Africa to halt and reverse its deindustrialisation is rapidly closing, making decisive action an economic imperative. Businesses want to invest, expand and employ more South Africans, but they cannot do so while dragging the dead weight of an incapacitated state. The DTIC must urgently shift its focus away from drafting grand, theoretical strategies and instead focus on administrative execution, speed, and efficiency. Until a systemic shift in approach occurs, documents such as “South Africa’s Industrial Development Strategy 2026” are likely to remain nothing more than aspirational frameworks that fail to address ongoing deindustrialisation. • Mavuso is CEO of Business Leadership SA.