Programme Director;
MEC for Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs, Mr Siboniso Duma;
Speaker of eThekwini Metro, Cllr Thabani Nyawose
President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors, Mr Andrew Kirby;
Senior Government Officials; Representatives of labour; Our valued social partners; Members of the Media; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is an honour and joy to witness the reopening of Toyota South Africa’s Motors manufacturing plant here in Prospecton.
On behalf of the Provincial Government and the people of KwaZulu-Natal, we wish to pay tribute to this company for the enormous progress it has made on its journey to rebuild and restore this plant.
The floods in April and May caused massive infrastructure damage estimated at R30-billion. Like many other companies, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSMA) and its stakeholders were severely affected forcing the company to suspend production effective from 11 April 2022. The damages to the facility cost billions in clean-up and retooling.
The tremendous progress made so far confirms our confidence that by the end of next month, this plant would have returned to similar production volumes as the pre-flood. We are also confident that vehicle supply backlogs would have been suitably addressed by 30 September 2022.
In the aftermath of the devastating floods in April and May which stole the lives of our loved ones, displaced communities, and wreaked havoc on a number of businesses, today we can say with certainty that this global giant and international brand, Toyota, has brought the rainbow of hope on the horizons of KwaZulu-Natal.
We are pleased to learn that Toyota South Africa Motors (TSMA) has now started up its catalytic converter export line and Hino truck production line; The Hilux, Fortuner and Hi-Ace production line is now operational. So is the Corolla Cross line too. TSMA has committed that it will now focus its energies on starting up the Corolla Quest production line.
Toyota South Africa Motors is central to the heartbeat of the KwaZulu-Natal economy. It touches the lives of the people of this province and our country in more ways than one. We take immense pride in knowing that this company supports employment and makes a vital contribution to the social upliftment of a number of communities.
Ladies and Gentlemen, manufacturing, industrialisation, and the South African automotive industry in particular play a crucial role in the South African economy. South Africa’s Automotive Industry Master Plan 2035 recognises that no less than a third of value addition within the domestic manufacturing sector is derived from vehicle assembly and automotive component manufacturing activity.
The KwaZulu-Natal Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan that our province developed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and the July 2021 civil unrest identified 15 priority sectors which include manufacturing, innovation, and the 4th Industrial Revolution among others.
We consider the automotive industry to be strategically located in KwaZulu-Natal given our advantage of the Durban Port and that we act as a Gateway to the Southern African Region and the rest of Africa.
A global brand like Toyota with its deep roots in the KwaZulu- Natal soil gives us an edge to take advantage of the opportunities presented by regional integration and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) with a combined market of more than 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion.
The port of Durban remains an important pillar of the South African economy. It is estimated that about 60% of the country's trade flows through the Port of Durban. We are aware that the Port of Durban has been operating at reduced capacity since the April floods despite significant improvements that have been accomplished to clean and rehabilitate it in the aftermath of the floods.
We have also been appraised that rail operations were damaged and the preliminary estimated time to resume single-line operations on the mainline is seven weeks.
Last year we celebrated the launch of the the energy-efficient, Toyota Hybrid vehicle here in Durban.
The disruption to production did not only affect Toyota’s business operations, but also sought to arrest our province’s aptitude in taking a lead in producing these cars of the future which are in demand and more environment-friendly. Today’s reopening of this plant restores our hope and preeminent place in localisation, innovation, and just transition to sustainable, clean energy.
We are concerned about research coming from Fitch forecasting that over the longer term (2022-2031) South Africa's vehicle production volumes will expand at an average annual rate of 5.7% year-on-year to reach an output volume high of just over 1- million units by the end of 2031.
The significance of this is that South Africa's vehicle production is set to face a significant risk from the slow development of a local electric vehicle (EV) industry as it increases the risk of losing demand for locally produced vehicles in key export markets in the US and Europe.
To succeed and to gain lost ground in the context of COVID-19 and the climate change emergency, we call upon all stakeholders to work together and forge a strong partnership to ensure that the automotive sector thrives and creates decent and sustainable employment.
We make an impassioned appeal to all trade unions and workers in the sector to help the industry recover and save jobs. At the same time, we also appeal to leaders in the industry to listen with their hearts and factor the high cost of living and various financial stresses that affect workers and their disposable income.
We are aware of ongoing salary negotiations between organised labour and Toyota South Africa Motors. We hope that the employer and the workers will soon reach an agreement to avert any possibility of a protracted strike to a sector that is already facing hardships as it seeks to recover from the impact of COVID-19, the July 2021 unrest, and the April and May floods.
All efforts must be placed on saving jobs and cushioning workers during these hard times. Working together as partners in development, let us not allow the situation to deteriorate further with the high unemployment levels in our country and province.
We thank Toyota for being a dependable ally of the people of our province in the fight against the scurges of poverty, unemployment, inequality, and violence.
We appreciate the vote of confidence by this multinational in the South African and KZN economy.
To all potential investors, please take a leaf from Toyota. KwaZulu-Natal is open for business.
Together growing our beautiful province and rising together to reach our potential and restore the hope of our people.
I thank you!