Media Release: BMW South Africa donates Mandela’s former car to charity

 

 

 

Media Release

19 September 2012

 

BMW South Africa donates Mandela's former car to charity

Johannesburg – BMW South Africa has donated former president Nelson Mandela's BMW 7 Series Security Vehicle to the 46664 Mandela Day School Library project. The customised BMW 7 series, fitted with a blue light grill, which was given to the former President by the Bavarian car maker, will be auctioned in the coming months. The proceeds will go towards supplying fully-stocked container libraries to disadvantaged schools in Johannesburg.

The office of the former president returned the car to BMW at the end of its service life. It has since been restored to an immaculate condition and is currently on display at the Franschoek Motor Museum.

The private auction will determine the next home for the car, which was used as the official transport for arguably the most famous and revered statesman of our generation. Vying to take ownership of the former president's BMW at the silent auction will be avid car collectors as well as museums of the world. "It is important that we balance the preservation of history surrounding the car with the commercial reality of funding the next phase of the 46664 Mandela Day School Library project," says Robert Coutts, CEO of 46664 BANGLE Initiative.

"We hope that the car will find a home in a museum in South Africa so the history is preserved appropriately in our own country. Once the car has been sold for the price we anticipate, it means we would be in a position to deliver one library every 6 weeks for a year," states Coutts.

"With 90% of South African schools without libraries, there is a glaringly huge gap in the resources necessary to educate young children. As BMW we are happy to make a contribution to this excellent initiative as the country seeks sustainable solutions to its education challenges," says Bodo Donauer, BMW South Africa's Managing Director.

As part of the agreement, the first two libraries acquired will be placed at schools in the communities surrounding BMW's Plant Rosslyn, north of Pretoria, where the majority of BMW workers hail from.

-Ends-

 

ATTACHED PICTURE: Former President, Nelson Mandela, pictured with Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Dr. Norbert Roithofer (left) and Mr Ian Robertson, then Managing Director of BMW South Africa (right).

 

For any queries please contact:

 

Mr Guy Kilfoil

General Manager: Communications & Public Affairs

BMW South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Phone: +27-12-522-2204

Cell: +28-82-583-6262

Guy.Kilfoil@bmw.co.za

 

 

The BMW Group

 

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 29 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

 

In 2011, the BMW Group sold about 1.67 million cars and more than 113,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2011 was euro 7.38 billion on revenues amounting to euro 68.82 billion. At 31 December 2011, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 100,000 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last seven years.

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Gauteng in skills drive to boost infrastructure

Johannesburg - Small businesses have a key role to play in providing opportunities and creating new jobs in emerging economies, the Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies said on Sunday.

Speaking at the International Small Business Congress held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Davies said South Africa needed to develop a more symbiotic relationship between big companies and small suppliers.

In South Africa, small businesses had good potential when it came to job creation, as the cost to create one job in a small firm was less than it was to create a job at a big firm, as large businesses were more capital intensive.

However, he said the country needed to raise the skills level of business owners so that firms didn't simply stumble along, and that their creative ideas could be turned into job-creating enterprises.

Davies said before 1994, the apartheid government had not only neglected black businesses, but had actively undermined and prohibited or restricted black people from starting businesses.

The apartheid state had created the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) in 1980, but Davies said the organisation proved a highly politicised body which did not lead to equitable assistance of small enterprises from all groups.

However after 1994, the new government had set up the Small Business Development Act in 1996, which led to the setting up of several institutions, including Ntsika - which in 2004 became the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and Khula Enterprise Finance.

He said the government this year rationalised a number of small business finance agencies -including Khula - into a single entity, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), with the aim of moving towards a single window through which firms could access small business funding.

Davies said the government had also chosen to focus more on incubation, but that compared to other emerging economies, South Africa had too few incubators - at just 32 under the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), compared to hundreds in similar other emerging economies.

Seda plans to roll out several more incubators in the next few years.

The department this month also put in place the incubator support programme - a cost-sharing funding programme to support the set up of incubation programmes and applications for the grant incentive would open on October 26, said Davies. 

Speaking about the role that government should play in supporting small businesses, David Irwin, who set up the UK's first small business support agency and steered UK's Small Business Service, which addressed government support for small firms, said the state should see their role as an enabler of economic success but otherwise not interfere in the sector.

Irwin, currently a partner of Irwin Grayson Associates in the UK, said governments must craft regulations that are both fair and seen to be fair, and that are consistent - and not have one department penning laws that are contradictory to others.

What was needed was a change in the culture in government, he said.

He pointed out that his "Think Small First" initiative introduced in the UK's Small Business Service, led to the adoption by the EU of a European Small Business Act, which included a provision that European governments consider the implication of any laws crafted will have on small firms before passing it. - SAnews.gov.za

SA, Cuba bolster relations

Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Marius Fransman on Friday concluded a visit to Cuba where he held a series of bilateral consultations with officials from that country.

Fransman met with key government representatives, including Hernandez Guillen, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment; Oscar Martinez Cordoves, the Deputy Chief of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and Rogelio Sierra Diaz, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"During these bilateral consultations, the ongoing efforts of both countries to elevate bilateral trade and commercial relations were noted. In this regard, the ratification of the Cuban Economic Assistance Package Agreement, signed earlier this year by South Africa and Cuba, was discussed.

"The renewal of the SA-Cuba Health Cooperation Agreement in July this year was also raised. Consequently, South Africa will, from September/October 2012, begin to train 1 000 students in medical science at Cuban universities," said the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in a statement.

The ministers also discussed the possibility of accelerating the agreements of the newly appointed ambassadors designate to South Africa and Cuba to ensure the speedy implementation of bilateral agreements.

DIRCO said relations between South Africa and Cuba remain excellent. 

"The governments of both countries share similar interests in relation to addressing the socio-economic needs and aspirations of the people of South Africa and Cuba."

Fransman's visit to Cuba was preceded by a visit to the Republic of Panama. The objectives of the two-nation visit were to follow-up on bilateral agreements and further enhance relations on the political and economic front.

Enhancing trilateral cooperation, especially in the area of health and humanitarian disasters, was raised. Fransman noted that the establishment of the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA) would contribute to the effective coordination of development and humanitarian assistance. 

South Africa and Cuba proposed to hold a workshop on this issue, which would include the relevant stakeholders and regional institutions. - SAnews.gov.za

SA will not tolerate violence in mining industry

Pretoria - The country's law enforcement agencies will no longer tolerate violence, illegal gatherings or the carrying of dangerous weapons, particularly from those in the mining sector, government ministers have warned.

Government was concerned about the violence, threats and intimidation in the mining sector and would implement measures to curb the situation. Its chief focus was to restore stability and normality in the mining sector that appeared to be at stake, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Friday.

Briefing the media on behalf of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, Radebe said ministers responsible for the security of the country had met and reflected on the situation that was prevailing in the country. 

The acts of violence and intimidation clearly undermined government efforts aimed at ensuring economic and security stability, he warned.

Government was also aware that if the current situation continued unabated, it would make it even harder to overcome the challenges of slow economic growth, high unemployment, poverty and inequality.

"Government will not tolerate these acts any further. Government has put measures in place to ensure that the current situation is brought under control," Radebe said.

These measures include effectively dealing with the illegal gatherings, the carrying of dangers weapons, incitement, as well as threats of violence against anyone in the affected areas. 

"Law enforcement agencies will not hesitate to arrest those who are found to have contravened legislations governing these acts... Government is making a clarion call to all South Africans to desist from these illegal acts and work with the law enforcement agencies to ensure that the situation is brought to normality," Radebe said.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa did not rule out the possibility that more police officers would be deployed to troubled area.

"We will do everything possible in the Constitution to ensure that normalcy prevails in those areas. Whether in deploying more police or whatever, we will do everything to ensure peace prevails," he stressed.

With regards to the economic impact of the recent events, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said that if the instability and the lack of production continued, the cost would be noted be in terms of the overall growth numbers.

South Africa's current account deficit would also be affected as well as employment. He cautioned that activities that threatened to increase unemployment numbers in this country could not be allowed to continue.

"Everybody in South Africa has a responsibility to ensure that we boost the confidence in our economy and our country. What we say, what we do, the violent acts we engage in, the incitement... of violence, undermines confidence in the South African economy and if we undermine confidence, we undermine investment, both from South Africans and foreigners," he added.

Talks with the mining industry were on-going, Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu said.

"We are engaging with the mining industry on a regular basis... All of us are ... concerned [about] its impact on the economy, its impact on the workers so we will continue to engage in a way that will make sure we find stability very soon," she added. - SAnews.gov.za

SANDF members urged to distance themselves from Malema

Pretoria - The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has called on all members of the SANDF to distance themselves from the actions of Julius Malema. 

This announcement follows reports about the intentions of the former ANC Youth League leader to address members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Wednesday, on issues relating to their grievances. 

"There has been no permission granted by the command structures of the SANDF for any soldiers to participate in the proposed gathering. Any member who participates in such a meeting without proper permission will be subjected to the disciplinary code of the SANDF. The compromise of discipline within the structures of the SANDF is a threat to the security of our country and all our people," the minister said.

Mapisa-Nqakula said it has been the expressed intention of Malema that his activities in the mining sector are aimed at rendering the sector "ungovernable" thereby undermining the economy.

"The country cannot afford for similar instability to be stoked within the military. The SANDF is the last line of defence of both the sovereignty and integrity of the country and we cannot allow anyone to play political football with this institution. 

"At the very least any attempt to destabilize the military should be regarded as anti-South African and counter revolutionary at the highest level! It is simply not going to be tolerated," the minister said.

The minister finds it opportunistic and disturbing that the meeting by Malema is being convened at a time when the SANDF has established the South African National Defence Services Commission to deal with issues relating to conditions of service for members. 

A Military Ombudsman has also been appointed by the former Minister of Defence and Military Veterans to deal with grievances of members of the SANDF.

"It must be stated in no unclear terms that the military operates within an environment of command and control wherein discipline forms an integral part. Legitimate grievances of members are to be addressed within the avenues outlined above. Any actions outside this realm will be dealt with decisively by the Chief of the SANDF," the minister said.

She also called on the South African public in general to disassociate itself from Malema. - SAnews.gov.za