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This was one of the opening remarks of President Thabo Mbeki on 6 September 2007 at the launch of DaimlerChrysler South Africa’s (DCSA) new-generation plant for the production of the Mercedes-Benz W204 C-Class series in East London.
The unveiling was also attended by Minister of Trade and Industry (Dti) Mandisi Mpahlwa, Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela and the honorary SA consul-general in Germany, Prof. Juergen Schrempp, who had championed investment in South Africa, as well as their majesties King Zwelonke Sigcawu and King Sandile Maxhobaya-Khawuleza and other members of the Xhosa royal kingdom.
The President commended DaimlerChrysler for investing in the Eastern Cape region, one of the country’s important economic nodes, which is famous for manufacturing world-class vehicles. “DaimlerChrysler has been part of the process of ensuring that this region becomes a major manufacturing industry, especially through increased investment as well as skills development,” he said.
Said DCSA chairperson Dr Hansgeorg Niefer in his executive message, “We have built a highly advanced, technologically pioneering product to the highest quality standards. In our 54-year history in South Africa, this will be the first time that a Mercedes-Benz product built on African soil is sold in America. One cannot find a worthier ‘ambassador’ than the new C-Class.”
Mbeki added that South Africans should be proud to be producing vehicles of such high quality, in particular the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which had become a symbol of reliability the world over. “We are even more proud of the fact that the final products from this site will be distributed to different parts of the world, which will certainly redound to our reputation as an internationally competitive nation.”
The launch also signified the important partnership that existed between business and government, and the role that business was playing in the economic development of the country. President Mbeki welcomed the investment that DCSA had made towards skills training and development for its employees and improving these skills so that they will be relevant for the 21st century challenges that face the industry and the country.
“Increased investment not only contributes to the objectives of growth and development which our government seeks to achieve. It also creates employment opportunities and thus contributes to poverty eradication. The shortage of skills remains a big challenge for all of us,” he said.
“Government, together with the private sector and the universities, have put in place a comprehensive plan that should help us build the necessary skills-base in all critical areas needed by our economy. Through the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), we are all committed to fast-track the process of skilling the South African workforce for faster economic growth and social development.”
The President was pleased to discover that the DCSA’s role was not simply to run a profitable business enterprise effectively and productively but also to be an important corporate social investor by supporting social investment in its immediate community through initiatives in education and health. Mbeki noted that DCSA had invested about R1.9 million in improving its infrastructure, constructing new buildings, developing its technologies and investing in new tools as well as new state-of-the-art equipment.
Mbeki also took the opportunity to comment on the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP),which the government had been reviewing since 2005 with the aim of ensuring that the automotive industry remains globally competitive and is integrated into the global value chain. The MIDP was to expire in 2012.
He assured everyone present that the government was eager to complete the review, which was intended to evaluate the performance of the industry against the MIDP’s stated objectives: making vehicles more affordable; growing exports; rationalising production platforms; and stabilising and growing employment.
Minister Mpahlwa had announced in August 2007 at a press conference that the government was determined to complete the process to outline a support programme for the industry, which would be implemented after the current MIDP expired. Mpahlwa said that the development of a replacement scheme would be fast-tracked, and that details of the future of the new scheme were to be made public by December.
The State reiterated that it would be taking a long-term view of the industry and that it would aim to double production to 1.2 million units by 2020. The DTI would also, by March 2008, have formulated an empowerment plan for the automotive sector, said chief director Nimrod Zalk at the same press conference.
Mbeki said at the DCSA launch that “the future [support] programme will have to respond to the needs of the industry with regard to competitiveness, localisation and transformation. We will arrive at these decisions after comprehensive and sustained discussions that we are undertaking with the automobile industry as a whole. Our government will therefore honour its obligation consistently to engage all our relevant social partners to produce an agreement that meets our common desire to ensure the further and rapid expansion of the automobile sector.”
He concluded with a look at the National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF), which sought to respond to various economic and industrial policy imperatives, as well as to address a weakness that existed in the South African economy.
“Part of our vision of the NIPF is to have an industrialisation trajectory that is responsive to:
• the intensification of South Africa’s industrialisation process and movement towards a knowledge economy;
• the provision by domestic manufacturers of the capital goods that our growing economy needs and will continue to demand;
• the promotion of more labour-absorbing industrial sectors, with an emphasis on tradable labour-absorbing goods and services and economic linkages that catalyse employment creation; and
• the promotion of a broader based industrialisation path that is characterised by greater levels of participation of historically disadvantaged people and marginalised regions in the mainstream of the industrial economy.
“We are determined to pursue all these objectives, which are an integral part of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa. We know that in this regard, we have no choice but to succeed. This is because our Industrial Policy Framework and its Action Plan are critically important to the acceleration of our sustained advance towards overcoming the challenge of unemployment and poverty and creating a better life for all our people.”
Piet Coetzer
