Deputy Minister in The Presidency, Thembi Siweya,
has welcomed the impact the Hisense factory in Atlantis, Western Cape, has
had on jobs, saying further investments will improve the lives of ordinary
South Africans. Shortly after visiting the Hisense factory as
part of Brand South Africa¡¦s pre-World Economic Forum (WEF) media tour,
Deputy Minister Siweya said she was happy that the plant was employing
locals and helping government meet the objectives of creating jobs as
envisaged in the National Development Plan (NDP).
¡§We are happy because a plant like this produces jobs for South Africans.
And we want to call on the world to come and invest in South Africa and
build more fridges because it is going to help us to change the lives of
ordinary South Africans,¡¨ she said.
The Deputy Minister said this as the Chinese electronics giant revealed that
there were talks at the company to expand its operations in South Africa to
make cellphones. This would complement their existing fridge and TV
manufacturing lines.
Deputy Minister Siweya said Hisense¡¦s presence in South Africa meant that
the technology manufacturer was creating jobs. ¡§What this says to me is that
[Hisense] is directly going to respond and help us reach our NDP goals of
halving unemployment.
¡§I am also happy that you have an internal programme of transferring
skills,¡¨ she said, adding that as and when investment comes, skills will be
transferred to South Africans.
Hisense entered the South African market in 1996. The company is based in
Midrand, Gauteng and in Century City, Cape Town.
In June 2013, Hisense launched a R350-million state-of-the-art consumer
electronics and home appliance manufacturing facility in the Atlantis
Industrial Park, which is capable of producing 400 000 refrigerators and
televisions per annum.
Mark Dammert, a human capital development manager at Hisense, said the
factory currently employed between 600 and 700 people, and that 98% of the
workforce were Atlantis locals.
¡§What we are looking at in the future is further expansion as there are also
talks around [the fact that] we want to start manufacturing cell phones in
South Africa ¡K With that will come additional job creation for the people,¡¨
he said.
The Brand SA pre-WEF media tour was attended by local and international
media, as well as Minister in The Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, and MEC for
Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier. ¡V Source:
www.SAnews.gov.za |