[31]
I continued my odyssey among South African blacks. The West German automobile giant, BMW, employs 2 500 workers of whom 1 900 are black. I asked Seth Palatse (34), the Communications Officer at BMW, what would happen if his company was to disinvest from South Africa. He estimated that no less than 40 000 blacks would be directly affected by such a move. ‘Disinvestment,’ he said, ‘makes no sense whatsoever. The boycott from abroad does not serve the interests of blacks in this country. This definitely is the foundation of my thinking on this matter.’
I questioned him on the possibility of lip service by South African companies towards Africanisation. ‘At BMW,’ he stressed, ‘we have embarked on an extensive management development program. This means employees are being brought into a development training system that lasts for about 5 years. During this learning period, the incumbents will be exposed to various operations within the plant. To properly develop the employee, he must have the knowledge of all other operations. The company has, in addition, recently approved a one-million-rand training expansion plan which will incorporate 30 additional dealer apprentices per annum. BMW is fully committed to training black plant managers.’
Later, I visited a BMW assembly plant outside Pretoria, where an apprentice training centre further meets BMW's commitment to train and qualify black mechanics. Palatse added, wryly, ‘There is progress in the black community at large, but delays towards meaningful reform are causing impatience, which tempts people to resort to other actions. These delays are affecting the black community, generally speaking. The pace of reform is too slow. That's how I feel about it.’
Auteursrechtelijk beschermd