Sectors currently offering above average
growth potential in Africa include
agriculture, mining, energy (oil and gas),
consumer products and health care.
Further momentum will come from major
infrastructure projects, industrialisation and
regional integration, ultimately culminating
in a continental free trade area. Global
investors are progressively positioning
themselves for the evolving growth and
development throughout Africa.
A domestic vehicle manufacturing
industry is important because it leads
to foreign direct investment and has a
positive multiplier effect, both upstream
and downstream. It creates direct and
indirect jobs and increases the demand
for high level skills. Furthermore,
technology transfers, balance of payments
contributions and a growing after sales
and parts support infrastructures are sure
to follow.
Challenges
One of several issues lamented during
the event’s industry conference was the
absence of formalised automotive industry
associations and bodies within Zambia
that could give the various sectors within
that country’s automotive industry an
accumulative voice.
Without associations like NAAMSA, the
availability of accurate, comprehensive
new vehicle sales data for Zambia is
difficult to come by. This despite the fact
that new vehicle sales data is of utmost
importance to the authorities, economists,
automotive and component industries,
dealerships and the public, who use it for
policy formulation, policy review, official
decision making and monitoring.
NAAMSA and Lightstone AUTO
representatives intimated they’d be willing
to offer assistance to Zambia and other
African countries to set up the disciplines,
procedures and platform to collate,
administer and release vehicle sales data.
An explorative meeting with Zambian
authorities and dealerships was later
scheduled during the conference.
Having caught a taxi to the Complex,
we noticed that Zambia’s car parc is a
melting pot of obscurely named Japanese
second-hand imports in varying stages of
decay. While we don’t know this as fact,
we suspect that when it comes to vehicle
importing, many in Zambia have read the
fifty shades of grey, er, handbook…
➲ New battery information was tabled
Accurate vehicle sales information is hard
to come by, with guestimates suggesting
that around 5 000 second-hand Japanese
vehicles are imported into the country
every month. Many of the nameplates
seen on (and abandoned alongside)
Zambian roads will be completely foreign
to South African nationals, with the Heinz
variety of imports making correct parts
stockholding a dark art indeed.
For the automotive industry to take off
in Zambia, the country needs to address
the many auto industrial developmental
challenges in gradual incremental steps
through a cooperative approach between
government, Zambian auto industry
stakeholders and labour. It should initially
consider incentivising semi knocked
down vehicle manufacturing as opposed
to capital intensive completely knocked
down operations.
The country must focus on incentives
like investment support, tax concessions,
and a rates holiday, instead of penalties
such as duties, levies and imposts (which
distort trade flows). Zambia needs
also to introduce a permit system to
control used vehicle importation
and the industry should
introduce an accurate new
and used vehicle sales
reporting system.
➲ ATE sent its disc jockey
➲ A family photo
➲ The three Musketeers stood and delivered
| words in action
➲ Some components blew visitors away
35
october 2014