Johannesburg - The surprise appointment of a second trade and industry deputy minister could mark a turning point in the ability of the department to accelerate economic growth and job creation, business leaders said yesterday.

In a cabinet reshuffle, President Thabo Mbeki yesterday appointed senior parliamentarians Rob Davies and Elizabeth Thabethe as deputy ministers in the department of trade and industry (dti) in the place of Lindiwe Hendricks, who will now head the minerals and energy portfolio. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former minerals and energy minister, was named deputy president.

Davies is an ANC MP and currently chairs parliament's finance portfolio committee, while Thabethe chairs the enviromental and tourism portfolio committees. Although Mbeki did not specify what roles Davies and Thabethe would play, analysts say the two deputies will focus on domestic issues, while the minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, will focus on international matters such as the World Trade Organisation talks and other trade-related issues.

The deputy ministers are expected to push small business development to the top of policy makers' to-do lists.

"I think one of the deputy ministers will focus on the second economy issues such as BEE [black economic empowerment] and SMMEs [small, micro and medium enterprises], while the other will focus on the first economy issues with regard to large corporates and the development sectoral policies," said an analyst who declined to be named.

Local business leaders said the drafting of two deputy ministers into the dti would help improve efficiency within the department, which has a gigantic mandate and has often faced attacks over its alleged lack of delivery and inefficiency.

There have been calls for the department to be split. Deidre Penfold, president of the SA Chamber of Business, said the appointments would reinvigorate the dti's ability to implement its policies.

"This is a positive move because it will improve the dti's implementation of its functions. It will also assist in reducing the workload as it has a multiplicity of functions," said Penfold.

"A lot more needs to be done to stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises because new growth and development will be generated by these businesses."

Buhle Mthethwa, the general secretary of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry, hoped Davies and Thabethe would prioritise SMME development and BEE as these were crucial for further accelerating economic growth.

"All along we have been proposing for the appointment of an additional deputy minister. I believe the appointments will strengthen the department and they also show that the president is serious about the development of SMMEs and BEE," Mthethwa said.

Apart from negotiating trade deals and promoting the diversification of the local economy, the department is responsible for administering industrial incentives, export promotion, SMME development, BEE, and competition and gambling laws.

But the department has to implement this staggering mandate on fewer staff, resulting in the public complaining about its failure to quickly process queries and incentives. It is estimated that the department needs to fill more than 320 vacancies.

With acknowledgements to Andile Ntingi and the Business Report.