In an article that made my ex-South African heart thump with great pride I read that Volkswagen SA had secured a major worldwide export deal. It’s for the new VW Polo, a make of car that I have been a proud owner of in the past and can vouch for it’s enjoyability.

The sum of money involved is a staggering R27 billion. Even for the slightly mickey mouse aspect of the South African currency, this is still a fair amount of shekels. And all of it, it seems will be streaming into South Africa. And not only that, it will be streaming into an area that is truly desperate for investment money that is the Eastern Cape.

Although this export deal will be running over a few years, it should still be celebrated for it’s sheer size and the MD of VWSA is to be congratulated for signing it.

What did make me hesitate somewhat was the fact that according to the said same article it states that this staggering amount of money will lead to creating 685 direct jobs by June 2010.

Of course, one would I suppose have to count how many jobs will be created in the manufacturing industry that will be supplying Volkswagen with materials, components and other products and services with other words indirect jobs.

Still, it seems a huge amount of money coming into the country with this contract and the spin-off in terms of jobs at Volkswagen SA is a mere few 685 jobs. One could understand some folk asking the question whether this huge effort is worth it.

Wouldn’t it have been a lot more cost-effective to provide 685 entrepreneurs with seed money to start their own businesses? It would also mean that after 6 years when this mammoth contract has been completed that the 685 employed folk might not be at risk of losing their jobs.

One of the problems with the motor industry has been the fact that workers have been at the beck and call of the factories. No job security so to speak. And there are no major skills to be learnt that might qualify workers to find employment somewhere else.

After all you will be expert in bolting on one set of nuts to one part of the vehicle. Hardly qualifies you to find work anywhere else. Feast or famine. That’s what it brings to an area. When things are going well in the factory the folk can eat. If not, everybody starves.

But then I have to admit that current economics aren’t making sense to me. I still don’t understand how CEO’s of big investment companies are getting huge bonuses even though they didn’t exactly post huge profits in 2008.

Same sort of numbers really as the above motor industry story. Billions coming in, and very few ordinary folk benefitting. Just the fat cats getting fatter. Is this how it’s always going to end up?