There’s so much goodwill to SA from long-time international investors. Please don’t scare them off!
There’s a wonderful amount of goodwill towards South Africa from long-time international investors. I say this after recent visits to both BMW, which recently announced a R2,2-billion rand investment to build the next generation 3 Series at its Rosslyn plant, and Volkswagen, which has just invested almost R4 billion in a project to build the new Polo (for export) and Polo Vivo models in Uitenhage. All this is very heartening in the face of the worldwide recession.
In an interview with BMW chief executive Dr Norbert Reithofer, he told me quite simply that BMW and many other European companies had a desire to see South Africa succeed. Certainly, his company would not throw funds away if the business plan were not sustainable, but they were also investing in a country they believed could show the way forward for Africa.
I had the same feeling listening to Volkswagen SA’s chief executive Dave Powels outlining the efforts Volkswagen had put into the Polo and Polo Vivo projects. Not simply assembled in South Africa, the two new VW models feature local content levels of over 70 per cent.
To do this, VW assisted four large suppliers to set up shop close to their plant, creating a significant number of new jobs. And, to make this all work, there has been an impressive investment in training, with the establishment of the VW Academy of Learning to equip workers with the skills required for the new engine plant, press shop, paint shop and assembly lines established as part of the project.
These are lean times and we need all the help we can get. Which is why I am extremely uneasy about the ever-expanding circus-acts in the upper echelons of government, with the president, the SACP, Cosatu and Mr Julius Malema playing starring roles, that would have me extremely worried were I an overseas investor.
We certainly don’t need our version of Nero fiddling away while Rome burns!
