South African Automotive Week
| by Austin Gamble
Two Elephants in the Room
The fourth SAAW (South African Automotive Week) was held at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand,
Gauteng from 13 to 17 October 2014. This was the first time that the SAAW was held in the Gauteng Province,
with the previous three events being held in Port Elizabeth.
I
rrespective of venue, the
format of the SAAW has
basically remained the
same, with a trade show, match
making meetings, conferences
and workshops, site tours and
networking opportunities, all
focused on showcasing South
Africa’s vehicle component
manufacturers, and promoting
opportunities for trade in the
manufacturing and down and
up-stream sectors. The 2014
event did however introduce new
elements, and will undoubtedly
also be remembered for the platform it
provided at the AIDC automotive conference
to look at the opportunities for African
integration in the automotive sector, and
the vision for an African future. And despite
the different themes at each and every
conference, a very large elephant has always
been in the room, with the only difference at
the 2014 conference being another elephant
joining its recalcitrant brother, and creating
a very cramped room, with very little elbow
space for the other unfortunate occupants.
wage increases and benefits that make us
less competitive – don’t they understand
that we compete globally?”; or “why do
the unions go on so many strike actions
for wage increases so much above CPI,
and damage South Africa’s image and turn
away investment?” Maybe he knew that his
rhetoric, which goes down a storm at union
meetings, would not hold much water in a
more reasoned and cerebral environment.
And the 2012 conference was more of the
same, with Cosatu once again accepting
an invite, but not bothering to attend to
attend this important forum, and once
again avoiding debate on these important
issues.
And as the antics of the unions
have got even worse these past
two years, I was hoping that
Cosatu’s acceptance to participate
in this year’s panel discussion titled
“Labour Wellness and Stability:
Steps towards a healthier outcome
for all” would be followed up with
them actually turning up. Alas, their
propensity to avoid adult debate,
led to them once again being
absent, and once again displaying
appalling manners, leaving a rather
large elephant to occupy the space
originally allocated to them.
Now for the second elephant. Not as big
as the first elephant, but growing fast. This
second elephant is leadership. Leadership,
in all its facets, is urgently required in the
current South Africa, with this enormous
responsibility, or rather an absolute
imperative, falling on the shoulders of
government, business, and labour, in equal
proportions. I think any clear thinking and
lucid observer would give business a pass
on this one, because despite enormous
odds the captains of industry have with
a few exceptions soldiered on, and kept
the economy going. They literally have
no option, because their stakeholders,
particularly the investors and shareholders,
expect nothing less. We will not
even mention labour, because
there is very little to mention when
it comes to leadership, apart from
their obstructive and destructive
behaviour. And then there is
government, which forms a large
part of the second elephant, and
unfortunately in the past couple
of years not displaying any
encouraging signs of leadership.
Let’s have a look at the first elephant,
which since the first conference that aBr
attended in 2009, has grown to an obese
and stubborn pachyderm. This grotesque
elephant, with the scientific
name loxodonta africana
cosatus, has never been seen at
automotive industry conferences,
despite strenuous efforts by
the organisers to entice them
out of their lairs. And it is not
surprising, since robust debate
is not exactly what this elephant
wants. For example, at the 2009
automotive conference, Irvin Jim
of Numsa accepted an invite
to participate, but did not turn
up. Maybe he knew that he was
going to be put in the hot seat,
with questions submitted by the
➲ This picture aptly depicts the current scenario in South Africa
delegates asking such things
– business leaders holding their heads in their hands while
others are hell-bent on destroying the automotive industry
as “why do the unions insist on
| words in action
50
november 2014
A good indication of this damning
indictment was the fact that the
two ministers who had been
invited to the conference, and who
had accepted these invitations,
deemed it as not important enough