5 July 2007
Programme Director;
The Chairman of Palfinger Southern Africa, Mr. Sello Rasethaba;
The Chief Executive Officer of Palfinger Southern Africa, Mr. Howard
Williams and his management team;
Honoured Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for inviting us to the official opening of Palfinger Southern Africa's new premises. We are indeed delighted to be part of this important event.
Let me also take this opportunity to pass on the sincere apology of the MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs, MEC Paul Mashatile, who was supposed to be with us today but could not join us due to other pressing work commitments.
The MEC has however asked me to convey his best wishes to the management of Palfinger on your future endeavours.
Programme Director, as the Gauteng provincial government we have always taken pride in the reality that our province continues to be the economic engine of South Africa and a major player in the economies of both the southern African region and the African Continent.
Like the economies of many city regions across the world, the economy of Gauteng is poised to continue playing a significant role in both our national and regional economies.
Our world class infrastructure, our relatively high level of skills availability, a solid consumer base, our advanced financial services sector, a growing provincial economy and government's interventions to support the development of industries are some of the key ingredients that will continue to makes Gauteng a preferred destination for investment and a launching pad to access the Southern African market and the broader African market.
That Palfinger has chosen South African and in particular Gauteng as the base to re-launch itself into the Southern African market and extend its global footprint bears testimony to this reality.
By choosing to be in Gauteng you could not have made a better investment decision. The timing of your investment is also commendable. We are indeed proud to welcome you to our shores.
You come to our shores at a time when the South Africa economy is experiencing an extended period of unprecedented economic growth. In the medium to long term the robust growth of our national economy is expected not only to be sustained, but to reach even higher levels.
In line with this trend the Gauteng economy is expect to continue growing strongly. From 1997 to 2005, the Gauteng economy has outperformed the national economy's growth rate.
Our research indicates that the outlook for Gauteng's economy is slightly more positive than that of the national economy, with the provincial growth rate expected to exceed that of the national economy.
We are confident that we will reach our target of growing the provincial economy at a rate of 8% by 2014, which is critical to the national economy achieving a growth rate of 6% by 2014. Of significance to your company and the industry that you operate in is that; we expect the construction and manufacturing sectors to be among the key drivers of economic growth. This we think bodes well for companies like Palfinger.
Infrastructure investment by both the public and private sectors is expected to increase significantly going forward. Gross Capital Formation as a percentage of GDP, grew from an average of 15% between 1999 to 2002 to 19% in 2006. We expect this trend to continue.
As the Gauteng Provincial Government we will together with municipalities spent in excess of R 50 billion over three years to improve infrastructure such as roads, schools and health facilities across the province.
We are also in the process of establishing a Gauteng Development Fund whose purpose is to leverage private sector funding into major infrastructure projects in Gauteng.
The establishment of the Fund indicates our desire as government to form partnerships with the private sector thereby increase the pool of resources available for infrastructure projects.
Our approach to substantially increase investment in infrastructure is motivated by the realization that; infrastructure spending contributes directly to accelerated economic growth, job creation and the development of new nodes of economic activity.
Recent statistics form the National Automobile Manufactures of South Africa indicate that while the sale of passenger vehicles has declined, the sale of commercial vehicles continues to be resilient. This points to the strength of the production side of our economy, a factor which we think also bodes well for companies such as Palfinger.
We have no doubt that your company will derive major benefits from all the positive developments in the national and provincial economies. We also wish you success in your efforts to extend your company's global footprint.
Once more, welcome to Gauteng and may your investment grow in leaps and bounds.
Thank you.