Privatising Iscor ‘a mistake’ – Gigaba

Public enterprises minister
Malusi Gigaba says the
privatisation of Iscor under
National Party rule was a
“mistake.”
Asked by FTW what
plans the government
had to support the local
rail fabrication industry
in the face of high steel
prices, he said the import
parity pricing policy of
the existing two steel
manufacturers (Arcelor
Mittal and Evraz Highveld
Steel) was “receiving
priority attention” from
government.
This will be good news
for all South African
manufacturers using steel,
as they find it hard to
compete against companies
in China which, although
the iron ore and coal to
fire the power stations
is imported from South
Africa, have among the
cheapest steel prices in
the world.
One of the options being
considered is the setting
up of a third steel producer
– either by the state or a
private operator.
“We need to create a third
competitor, whether it is
state owned or not,” he said.