Pretoria - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said a partnership between government, labour, business and other role players was indispensable for recovery from the job losses experienced in the past few years as a result of the global economic meltdown.
Motlanthe said for this to be a success, the financial sector would be critical for the objective of making improvements on a broader scale.
"Encouraging domestic manufacturing and production of automobile products in South Africa will undoubtedly contribute to the creation of more jobs in our country," he said.
Speaking at the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) Executive Round Table Breakfast held in Nasrec in Johannesburg, Motlanthe said the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) and Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) remain important industrial policy tools to support, promote and advance future sustainability of South African automotive sector.
"We are alive to the need to gear our efforts to addressing other outstanding areas in this sector," said Motlanthe, adding that government will continue to work with the industry in developing and honing skills to ensure that South Africa remains a preferred location for the production of world class vehicles.
Motlanthe said a lot still needed to be done in transforming the automotive industry, which contributes considerably to the Gross Domestic Product and job creation.
International trends indicate that for every employee in the manufacturing of motor vehicles, two or more workers are employed within the sales, servicing and repair of motor vehicles.
In 2009, the South African motor vehicle manufacturing and the component manufacturing sectors employed 30 000 and 61 000 people respectively.
