Jul 23, 2024 HDI Automotive Aftermarket Association Forum (HDI AAAF), Black-Owned Car Workshops, Sello Mosai,
HDI Automotive Aftermarket Association Forum (HDI AAAF) - A united front to advocate for Black-Owned Car Workshops in SA
The HDI Automotive Aftermarket Association Forum (HDI AAAF), a pivotal collective comprising esteemed organisations such as the Federation of Automotive Aftermarket Associations (FAAA), Independent Repairers (IA), the Auto Network (AN), and the Gauteng Suppliers Organisation (GSO). HDI AAAF emerges to address and resolve crucial challenges faced by its members within the automotive and auto aftermarket industry.
HDI AAAF is established from a dire need to create a coordinated, coherent, consistent, and collective representation. It mandates that Black-owned car workshops, including mechanical shops and panel beaters, gain access to work opportunities from both private and public sectors, specifically through governmental tenders.
Supporting black-owned businesses, the HDI AAAF represents dynamic segments within the automotive aftermarket industry:
• Auto glass
• Panel-beating
• Vehicle recovery
• Towing services
• Automotive workshops
• Car wash services
• Spares retailing
The Employment Crisis: Recent alerts from HDI AAAF indicate a staggering risk to more than 162,000 jobs. Predominantly affecting black-owned Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in the automotive aftermarket industry, this risk stems from the widespread closure of workshops each day.
The core of this crisis revolves around the controversial RT46 Government Tender. Despite its substantial multi-billion Rand valuation, the tender has allegedly excluded numerous black-owned workshops from the sharing of contracts designated for the repair and maintenance of the government fleet. Workshops around the country, particularly in the urban centres such as in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal are facing imminent closures or are already out of business due to exclusion by WesBank from these pivotal contracts.
The RT46 Government Tender: Administered by WesBank, NedFleet, and Fleet Africa, the RT46 tender oversees a five-year contract commencing 01 April 2021. It includes comprehensive vehicle fleet management services necessitated by various government departments, covering essential operations like police cars and ambulances.
HDI AAAF’s Mission: HDI AAAF diligently pursues equitable opportunities for Black-owned workshops in tenders. It envisions a thriving, inclusive industry where these enterprises are empowered to sustain and grow, providing employment and essential services nationwide. By advocating for fair participation, HDI AAAF aims to rectify existing disparities, ensuring that the automotive sector's growth is reflective of South Africa's diverse enterprise
landscape.
“HDI AAAF reflects the true main cause and fight for black-owned businesses in the automotive industry," said Mr. Sello Mosai, Chairperson of HDI AAAF. “We have engaged WesBank about the alleged discrimination and barriers faced by black-owned businesses contracted through the RT46 tender. We have also raised the matter with the National Treasury and the Department of Transport but little has been achieved or done,” Mosai
noted.
Invitation to Black-Owned Businesses: HDI AAAF invites black-owned businesses in the automotive industry and workshops operating among others in auto glass, panel-beating, recovery, towing, automotive workshops, car wash and spares retailing to join their fight. The goal is to ensure that at least 80% percent of government or private work is awarded to black-owned SMMEs in line with the population ratio.
For more information on joining HDI AAAF or one of the associations, please contact Mr. Sello Mosai at 067 172 6375 or email: mosais@sewgamoholding.co.za.
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