Government must look after current investors and not only seek new ones – Naamsa president
It is important for government to not only pursue new investors, but to also look after current investors already doing business in South Africa, says Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council president Billy Tom.
Tom is also the CEO of Isuzu Motors South Africa. The local arm of the Japanese manufacturer is based in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, where it assembles trucks and the D-Max bakkie for the local and export markets.
Speaking at the South African Automotive Week 2024 held in Cape Town this week, Tom questioned South Africa’s “obsession” with garnering new investments – “we always want to go and stand and cut ribbons” – while not looking to those companies which had already invested in South Africa, while “they were bleeding”.
Tom also noted that investment was like water, and that it would follow the path of least resistance.
“And we’ve made it really difficult to invest [in South Africa].”
While Tom was, generally speaking, optimistic about the Government of National Unity, he believed there remained a “big trust deficit” between the private sector and government, despite the recent combined effort to tackle loadshedding.
He lamented the fact that some Cabinet ministers remained dead-set against private participation in the areas where there existed government monopolies, and that the label of ‘white monopoly capital’ was so often handed out around boardroom tables.
Naamsa had by Wednesday not yet met with the new Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau.
The automotive industry contributes more than 5% to GDP and is the country’s largest manufacturing sector.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
