On 03 February the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (the dtic) announced that the new Ford investment in its Silverton plant, when completed, will pump R1.3 billion in wages and salaries annually into the Tshwane economy.
The announcement follows the designation of the area by the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in late 2019.
The R16-billion in investment will cover expansion of the Ford assembly plant in phases to reach a capacity to assemble 200 000 vehicles locally, principally centred on the new Ford Ranger bakkie. An anticipated 1 200 jobs will be created in the Ford plant with thousands of additional jobs at suppliers to the company. The announcement was preceded by a site visit by the President and other dignitaries to the construction site where a supplier park is being built. The President gave the keynote address at the event.
Ford Motor Company has been in negotiation with the dtic on the expansion of the plant, making it one of the largest Ford Ranger plants outside of the United States of America (US).
Five key Government policies championed by the President, informed the decision of Ford, and enabled rapid decision-making, the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister told a small gathering of business and Government leaders at the site.
“First, the Special Economic Zones framework. In October 2019 we revamped our Special Economic Zone policy, leading to the designation of Tshwane as an Automobile SEZ. Based on this, Ford took the opportunity to announce they will help build a massive supplier hub in Tshwane and this in turn made the massive investment in the Ford plant itself worthwhile. Tshwane is on the road to becoming an Auto City, producing cars for local use and export to more than 150 countries,” the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister said.
“Second, the mobilisation of investment. President Ramaphosa set a target of R1.2 trillion of fresh investment needed to be raised over a 5-year period, in order to grow the economy. Today’s announcement of R16 billion by one firm alone, is 1.3% of the total. It will create jobs for women and young people and opportunities for small businesses and local suppliers,” he said.
“Third, the masterplans driving our policy. The reimagined industrial strategy focuses on sector partnerships which we call master plans. The Ford announcement is made possible by the auto-master plan, which seeks to double jobs and auto production in South Africa by 2035. Transformation and opportunities for small and medium businesses are key goals of the master plan. It is one of a number of industry partnerships that can drive deeper levels of localisation and support economic reconstruction and recovery,” he said.
“Fourth, the opening of new markets for locally produced products, including the new African Continental Free Trade Area, which has now entered the implementation phase. It will create a massive market and demand, for locally produced machinery, clothes and food, and of course Ford Ranger vehicles,” he said.
“Fifth, the District Development Model which brings together the different spheres of Government within an area to drive better coordination and implementation. It shows that the state can be agile and implementation-focused,” he said.
The announcement of the first major investment was made less than 15 months following the designation of the SEZ. Further announcements will be made in the next 18 months as suppliers finalise plans and take occupation of state-of-the art production facilities.
The Trade, Industry and Competition Minister paid tribute to the partnership with the Premier of Gauteng and the work of the Director General of the dtic and the senior management of Ford Motor Company for their problem-solving approach to the project.
Story by: Riaan de Lange