The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies congratulated Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) for taking a lead position in promoting black-suppliers in the automotive sector by successfully hosting the inaugural black-owned supplier’s day at its Uitenhage plant in the Eastern Cape, today.
Speaking at the event, Minister Davies stressed the fact localisation, transforming of the South African economy into an inclusive one and skills development remains long-term goals for government.
“I want to encourage big business, especially those that possess the same influence and global footprint of VWSA to get involved in skills development because that remains our long-term goal in implementing government’s Industrial Policy Action Plan, of which we will be pronouncing the eighth iteration of this month of May,” said Davies.
The VWSA black-owned supplier’s day presented a platform for forty-five (45) companies that met VWSA’s stringent supplier criteria to profile themselves to the local automotive industry.
VWSA’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Thomas Schaefer said that the concept of pioneering suppliers’ day originated from Volkswagen’s determination to expand its business to black-owned suppliers.
“It is through this initiative that we continue to support economic transformation in South Africa and this also demonstrates our understanding of government’s priority elements of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) codes and the drive for ownership,” stated Schaeffer.
In addition, Davies also announced that the automotive sector has invested R27, 5 billion into the South African economy in the past five-years.
“In the past we supported the automotive sector through the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) and now through the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) and are confident that we have built confidence from investors. We do also appreciate that the more auto components manufacturers we develop within and attract into the country, the better the chances of achieving our localisation objectives,” said Davies.
In conclusion, Davies added that industrialisation goes hand-in-hand with economic transformation.
“It is our mission to realise empowerment that will deliver real industrialists,” said Davies.
The automotive sector remains a critical component of South Africa’s industrial development strategy and continues to attract significant foreign direct investment. Further efforts are being made to identify, nurture and develop black suppliers within the automotive sector.
