The Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel, has welcomed investment pledges worth more than R4.6 billion made by sixteen automotive component manufacturers and suppliers at a conference hosted by the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) in Pretoria yesterday.
This investment, which Minister Patel described as a “strong vote of confidence in the South African Economy,” will support more than 10 000 jobs.
The companies that pledged include Shatterprufe, Atlantis Foundries, South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference, CRH Africa Automotive, John Moffat Prolock, IBO Group, and Auto Industrial Group.
“I am particularly pleased to be part of this major announcement today because investment is the lifeblood of every economy. It contributes to expanding the economy, creating jobs, and providing taxes that the government can use to build hospitals, schools, universities, and many other positive things that contribute to improving the lives of our people. This is a strong vote of confidence in the South African economy by the automotive components makers,” said Minister Patel.
He added that the government needed to respond to the private sector’s appetite to invest in the South African economy by creating a conducive environment where companies are more confident in putting money into building more factories. This, in turn, will create job opportunities for young people in a growing economy that represents industrial development.
“I was also pleased to learn that two of the companies that made pledges are Black Industrialist-owned firms that have been brought in as a result of the Automotive Industry Master Plan and the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund,” said Patel.
The AITF was established as a collective Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) as defined in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes between seven multinational automotive manufacturers in South Africa. It aims to facilitate transformation across the sector’s value chain through the provision of access to developmental funding, access to the market, and access to capacity development for qualifying black-owned entities.
The objectives of AITF include supporting qualifying black-owned entities, driving job creation, as well as enabling meaningful transformation and growth of the automotive sector across the value chain.
The Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel with representatives of companies that pledged to invest more than R4.6 billion into the South African economy.
Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (the dtic)
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