"In the run-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup my Japanese counterparts said South Africa will not be ready for the event. They were amazed that everything was in place including a few potholed roads to test the suspension of the new Toyota Hi-Lux double cabs."
He said this year's labour strike season is perturbing and that the strike in the vehicle manufacturing plants coupled with the automotive component industry is having a devastating effect on the industry. "An eight week strike is unheard of in the world today. We will have to change the way we do things locally. A Toyota customer in Russia waiting for their new Toyota bakkie is not interested in the strike issue, irrespective of the sentiment in South Africa. Locally we may still be able to manage the strike, but globally the industry can't absorb such a long strike."
Despite the current short-term negative sentiment, he says South Africa has a great future. "We are well placed to serve the continent with the five fastest growing economies in the world, all in Africa. The large natural gas and huge oil fields recently discovered in many African countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and the Congo, bodes well for the continent. Vast and varied mineral deposits in Zimbabwe will soon be in production. But we must not be fooled, South Africa is not the only gateway to Africa, the economic growth rate of the continent is simply too big and too fast for one player. We have competition, serious competition out there."
According to Van Zyl, we will have to re-industrialise the economy. "Without a manufacturing base it is virtually impossible to stabilise the financial pressures required for currency stability. If you are just a consumption economy the monetary value of your currency may be destabilised as too many outside factors come into play."
The deficit on the South African current account of the balance of payments will look particularly bad for the next quarter as vehicle exports, which should represent 12 per cent of the total, is simply not taking place.
Education is the key tool for economic empowerment. We must focus on people who employ themselves. We will have to inculcate the value of respect for people, life and property. Respect leads to relationships, which in turn will lead to nation building, the basis of a successful nation. "A single rugby, cricket or soccer game is not true nation building, but respect is."
Van Zyl says Toyota is continuously bolstering its five year R8-billion investment programme to be well placed for the boom in Africa. "The capacity of the Toyota Prospecton plant in Durban has been increased to 220 000 units a year. A new model will soon be launched in South Africa that will be locally produced. We are however concerned at the current slow growth rate here, but coupled to the rest of Africa it still looks good."
Van Zyl admires entrepreneurs in small and midsize towns like George, as business is very competitive considering that it is centred on a small customer base. "It is small towns like this that produces the industrialists and financiers that can succeed on the world stage."
The sponsors of the breakfast, allowing Dr van Zyl to address the critical issues that touch everyone in the country, were Jetline.e.com, Halfway Toyota, PG Glass, kykNET and the George Herald. Klein Karoo Toyota, PG Glass, Knysna Toyota, Total Courtney, Sanlam Private Investments, Grant Thornton, Millers Attorneys, Tuinroete Agri, Datadot and PJ Swart Financial Advisors bought tables at the event.
From left are: Anica Krüger (George Herald), Roger Bath (Halfway Toyota George), Nico Meyer (PG Glass), Dr Johan van Zyl (guest speaker Toyota South Africa) and Greig Fleet (Jetline).
PHOTOS: MYRON RABINOWTIZ
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