The city formerly known as Port Elizabeth (Gkeberha) is a microcosm of the wider South Africa of 2022… flashes of amazing potential marred by decay, incompetence and robbery. Driving into the city along the N2 from East London is a glimpse of the South Africa that could have been (and hopefully still can be). Port Coega is surrounded by huge factories and warehouses that grow on a landscape of dunes on the beach. ALSO READ: Hundreds of Gkeberha residents stuck on land contaminated with methane gas As you drive along the dual carriageway, you see more…
The city formerly known as Port Elizabeth (Gkeberha) is a microcosm of the wider South Africa of 2022… flashes of amazing potential marred by decay, incompetence and robbery.
Driving into the city along the N2 from East London is a glimpse of the South Africa that could have been (and hopefully still can be).
Port Coega is surrounded by huge factories and warehouses that grow on a landscape of dunes on the beach.
READ ALSO: Hundreds of Gkeberhi residents stuck on methane-contaminated land
As you drive along the dual carriageway, you see more than a dozen ships anchored in the bay, waiting to be loaded or unloaded.
It could be a sign that the world is getting back to normal…or a sign that our ports can’t cope. I haven’t been there long enough to know.
However, in the Central Business District, signs of decay and neglect are everywhere – from the unwashed and unpainted Art Deco buildings to the piles of garbage piled in the corners of the streets.
In the coastal area of ​​Summerstrand, Gkeberha is still a very attractive seaside resort, the promenade is neat and clean, restaurants and car parks are full, even on a Monday evening.
However, the city is approaching day zero as a combination of lack of maintenance of water infrastructure (where 40% of water is wasted) and incompetent ANC apparatchiks have led it to this crisis.
At Ford’s Struandale engine plant, I see a different vision of the South Africa we could have: a technology leader on the African continent, creating jobs everywhere.
One of these jobs at the plant was given to Nokawa Mthembu, who works as an electrician on one of the production lines and owes much of her training and experience to the international car manufacturer.
READ MORE: Ford SA injects R600m into its Gqeberha engine plant
It allows her to earn a living and take care of her three children – and show them that women can do anything men can do.
She is grateful but also proud of her hard work. No one gave her anything for nothing.
And that’s an attitude we need to see more of in this country.
Also in Struandale, I meet Zayd Isaacs, who has been with Ford since 1980 and, like many others, has grown with the company and changed with the rapid changes in technology.
He is actively involved in the complex logistics (both inbound and outbound) that ensure such a facility operates at optimum efficiency.
Like the rest of the team, he can’t take his eyes off the ball for a second. If he does, something will go wrong and the rest of the group will notice.
It’s a responsibility he and others take very seriously. And they should – if they weren’t competitive, Ford would move elsewhere in its group.
This is something that many South Africans – because they are constantly moaning that life is not their fault – do not understand.
READ ALSO: Nelson Mandela Bay opposition parties agree to work together to oust ANC
Foreign investment such as Ford’s – the company has invested 600 million rand in Struandale and almost 16 billion rand in the Silverton plant in Pretoria – depends on a favorable climate in terms of government relations, general economic factors and job stability.
That’s why it’s alarming to hear the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (which represents many workers in the automotive industry) muttering about wanting a double-digit increase under threat of strike action.
Comrades, you can’t roast and eat the golden goose, and the next day wonder what happened to the golden eggs.
