IN response to allegations, the board of the Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC) said it noted the recent public statement regarding governance and internal culture at the entity.
According to the board, it is treating all allegations regarding workplace culture and internal controls with the utmost seriousness. “These allegations are currently being attended to via the entity’s internal processes. We therefore wish to reserve the right to respond to any comments at this stage until our process is complete,” it said in a media statement.
The board said its focus is on ensuring the AIDC-EC remains a high-performing agency that inspires confidence in its partners, our workers, and the international investment community.
On 19 January, Dr Vicky Knoetze, a Democratic Alliance MPL, Shadow MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism in the Eastern Cape said, “Serious questions have been raised about governance, workplace culture, and internal controls at the Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC), following a series of internal complaints submitted to the AIDC board late last year.”
In a media statement , she said that the Democratic Alliance had seen several internal documents addressed to the AIDC board, submitted by anonymous concerned staff members. She said the documents raise a number of allegations.
Knoetze said she was submitting written parliamentary questions to the MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Nonkqubela Pieters, to establish whether the internal processes initiated by the AIDC board have been finalised, what findings or recommendations were made, and what steps have been taken to ensure proper governance, accountability, transparency, and value for money at the entity.
Given the submission date of January 19, a formal response would likely be due in the first or second week of February 2026.
The AIDC-EC is one of two regional Automotive Industry Development Centres in the country. It was established in 2003 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). The ECDC’s CEO was dismissed in September last year.
The AIDC Gauteng (AIDC GP) was established in 2000 and is a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA).
