PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN TO DRAW IN ALL SOUTH AFRICANS

Nedlac's Proudly South African campaign, which is about creating jobs and stimulating the economy by promoting South African products and services, will give all South Africans the opportunity to "do their bit" for the economy.

Whether as workers, employers, students, government employees, mothers or even children, the choices one makes in terms of the products one buys or helps to make, or the services one uses or offers, have an impact on the economy.

To use a very simple example, suppose one had the choice of buying a quality locally made T-shirt, or an imported one? Buying the local T-shirt means that the money goes back into the economy, enabling the factory that made the T-shirt to retain the jobs of the people who produced it.

Creating more demand for local goods and services will mean companies will have to produce more to satisfy the demand. They will need to source more of the materials that go into the final product, like cotton and fabric in the case of the T-shirt. To produce more, you need more people, and that means more jobs. More people with jobs means more consumers with money to spend on goods. And if they choose to spend that money on local goods, the cycle starts all over again. The campaign can in the long term help to increase the success of South African exports, which will also grow the economy and create jobs.

Are you Proudly South African?

If you are a worker, are you proud of the products that you produce? One of the aspects of the Proudly South African campaign will be to tell South Africans about all the goods that we produce in this country, goods that are world leaders or conform to world class standards, like Levi jeans, BMW 3 series motor vehicles and Mecer computers. Workers have the opportunity to contribute to the economy not only in the products or services they use as a consumer, but also as a Proudly South African worker.

If you are a business person, are you proud of the contribution you make to the country by choosing to be active in the South African economy? Are you proud of the services that South Africa can offer the investor, whether local or foreign? For example, South Africa has one of the most advanced banking systems in the world. Our advertising industry is world class, with many international companies choosing to come and produce adverts in South Africa. Joining the Proudly South African campaign will help companies to sell more of these goods and services, by associating them with a brand image that is positive and has integrity .

Moreover, since the campaign emphasises issues of quality, labour and environmental standards as well as local content as criteria for products to carry the Proudly South African logo, South Africans will be able to make choices about their purchases safe in the knowledge that there have been no compromises in the production process.

The Proudly South African campaign is more than just a campaign about putting logos on products. It's also about engendering pride in the roles that we can play as consumers, as workers, as employers, as investors, as part of the community, to help grow South Africa's economy without compromising on quality and labour and environmental standards .

Its success rests on the contribution from all South Africans.