Dti official Moothilal earns top job at Naacam

SENIOR Department of Trade and Industry (dti) official Renai Moothilal has been appointed executive director of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam) from next month.

Naacam has been without a full-time leader since last year, with former executive director Roger Pitot advising in a part-time capacity following the conclusion of his contract on the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) review to the dti.

Moothilal is a University of KwaZulu-Natal trained development economist and was most recently a senior official in the automotive policy unit at the dti, where he was instrumental in managing various policy and programme-related issues.

These included the transition from the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) to the APDP, institutionalising the Automotive Supply Chain Competitiveness Initiative (ASCCI) and laying the groundwork for the ongoing development of an Automotive Masterplan from 2020 to 2035.

Moothilal has also previously worked at the National Treasury.

Greater value

Dave Coffey, the president of Naacam, said Moothilal’s appointment came at a time when the organisation was looking to enhance its position and role within the South African automotive environment to deliver greater value for members.

Coffey said Moothilal brought a unique set of skills and experience, had in a fairly short time made his mark in the automotive manufacturing sector, was respected by the industry’s key stakeholders and had a deep and holistic appreciation of the challenges and opportunities faced by different sector players.

“We are entering an exciting phase of operations for Naacam and the automotive sector as a whole. Under the leadership of the dti, preparations are firmly under way to develop an Automotive Masterplan,” he said.

Coffey added that Naacam aimed to work towards a vision that maximised the localisation opportunities associated with automotive manufacturing for its members, while actively promoting and implementing activities to support the government’s push to increase broad-based black participation in the country’s industrial landscape.

Lionel October, the directorgeneral at the dti, supported Moothilal’s appointment. “This is a great example of skills cross-pollination between the public and private sectors and follows international trends in this respect.