Address by Adv Dali Mpofu, Chairperson, Proudly South African at the Nedlac Annual Summit

09 September 2006

Chairperson of the Nedlac Summit - Deputy President of our country, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Ministers present,
Government Officials, ILO Regional Director,
Executive Director of Nedlac

Fellow Panelists (Representing the Competition Commission, NSA, CCMA and ITAC)
Leaders of Nedlac constituencies
Distinguished guests
Comrades and Friends

INTRODUCTION

When the first democratically elected Parliament was opened in 1994, former President, Nelson Mandela, said, "Inspired by the single vision of creating a people-centered society, we will drive the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfillment and the continuous extension of the frontiers of freedom." In its eleventh year now, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) bears testimony to the progress made in uniting all constituencies in South Africa in pursuit of real economic and social progress - the imperative of a better life for all our citizens.

The fact that I am here today proudly representing the Proudly South African Campaign, founded by Nedlac in 2001, bears testimony to the firm resolve to ensure that the vision of a free, people-centered society indeed reaches home.

Thank you for the opportunity to report back on the progress made by Proudly South African in the implementation of its mandate, as a young, evolving organization:

1. Main achievements to date

1.1. Progress on mandate

Membership:

Proudly SA has a membership data base of 1 182 loyal and active members.

Awareness and consumer behavioural change:
Consumer research has confirmed that Proudly SA has continued to maintain high levels of brand awareness, in excess of 80%.

Proudly SA's aggressive consumer education drive has been rewarded by enhanced consumer uptake of Proudly South African branded products and services - from a measured level of 23% to 30%.

Over the past two months Proudly SA's Outreach Campaign has reached an audience of
21 000 in the following provinces: Gauteng, North West, Free State, Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga: the CEO Network Forums reached 160 executives: the endorsement campaign reached 33 million readers: the radio campaign features four messages, which is being flighted on all 16 SABC radio stations, reached 39 million listeners per month.

The Proudly SA Homegrown Awards, acknowledging homegrown innovation and excellence, features twelve winners in six categories. Three have already taken up their prizes (an opportunity to participate in a SA National Pavilion) sponsored by strategic partner - the dti. Banditos will exhibit in France, Lapdesk in Brazil and GUD Filters will exhibit in Germany.

Proudly South African also optimizes opportunities that assist in achieving the objectives of protecting and creating jobs. We have, therefore, again supported the CTFF - an initiative that had a positive economic impact valued at R12-million; which had achieved audience participation totaling 52 000; had a media reach of 24,5 million South Africans; and had actively involved 135 designers and 126 SMEs in the actual Festival.

1.2. Operational efficiencies and effectiveness
Critical business and managerial processes and systems have been reviewed and remedies have been implemented to enhance operational and managerial efficiencies and customer service. This is aligned to Proudly SA's quest, as a dynamic, quality-assured, learning organization, to achieve continuous improvement and develop world-class standards of service.

2. KEY CHALLENGES

2.1. Generating tangible benefits for Proudly South African member companies and sponsors - procurement challenges up to 2010 and beyond

Attaining an acceptable return on investment is a key requirement and a source of discontent amongst Proudly SA member companies.

Procurement: Proudly SA members have indicated that they would like their membership of the Campaign to be taken into consideration and included in Government's procurement processes in general. Members have similar expectations in terms of specific economic opportunities presented by events such as the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, and beyond.

BBBEE: Members have, furthermore, expressed the wish that membership of the Campaign should be incorporated as criteria in the finalization of Statement 500 and Statement 600 of the BBBEE Codes.

2.2. Campaign sponsorships
It has become clear in our liaison with key stakeholders, potential sponsors and members that they would naturally want to optimize business opportunities relating to 2010, and sponsorship opportunities that may arise in a number of areas such as communications, transport and others. In anticipation of this lucrative marketing opportunity, potential campaign sponsors/members have been delaying in finalizing any sponsorship commitments towards Proudly SA.

2.3. Challenge for greater cohesion and synergy
Proudly SA is a key domestic marketing resource in the national effort to promote national pride, whilst it is positioning the South African Economy favourably in terms of competitiveness and employment creation. It is not just a marketing/branding instrument. Therefore, Proudly SA's role needs to be re-affirmed - for the benefit of a long-term commitment by stakeholders, members and sponsors.

3. GOALS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

3.1. Proudly South African passionately shares the view that preference should be given to local suppliers when services and products are procured for the World Cup. Proudly SA members represent highly credible companies (as World Cup sponsors, FNB, MTN and SABC attest to) that are committed to Proudly SA's membership criteria. We therefore request that, in the event of a number of South African companies competing for a tender, preference should be given to Proudly South African companies since they already comply with most of the criteria set by government. It would be appreciated if PSA members could be included in Government's procurement processes - both in terms of the World Cup and other economic opportunities.

3.2. It is our view that the Proudly SA Board should find representation in the Presidential BBBEE Advisory Council to assist in terms of input regarding the inclusion of Proudly SA membership criteria in Statement 500 and Statement 600 of the BBBEE Codes.

3.3. It is recommended that government and business afford Proudly SA an opportunity to represent members' interests on forums where the specific contribution can have a positive impact, such as the dti's Industry Forum, the GCIS - the EIE Communication Cluster, BUSA, Chamsa, et cetera. This will enable Proudly SA to provide input on behalf of members directly at these strategic forums where issues and constraints that impact on the various sectors can be discussed with the aim of achieving tangible outcomes. Proudly SA currently represents 26 of the 45 industry sectors active in South Africa.

3.4. Proudly SA has an important public policy mission, supporting the case for continued financial support by Government in the medium to long term. Proudly SA wishes to approach Government with a request for funding to enable the Campaign to expand and to strengthen its capacity to fulfill its public mandate.

Conclusion

By fulfilling its mandate, the Proudly South African campaign has managed to contribute towards inspiring and consolidating our national pride in support of the country's socio-economic objectives. I do believe that the Campaign, as one of a number of tools with the economic well-being of our country at heart, has made its impact felt in terms of the protection of jobs and the creation of quality job opportunities - Buy Local Campaign.

This should be sufficient motivation for like-minded organizations to come together and to consolidate their efforts in support of greater prosperity, ubuntu and national unity.

Proudly SA has noted the bilateral agreement which was recently concluded between the Republic of South Africa and the People's Republic of China to limit the export of certain clothing and textile products to our country. Given the large number of job losses in this sector, we regard this as an important opportunity to save jobs and grow South African production. Proudly SA, therefore welcomes the announcement and calls on all stakeholders, including retailers, to work together to optimize this opportunity to realize the goals of the Proudly South African Campaign.

Thank you for the opportunity to address this Forum. I hope that we will have the opportunity to debate the issues raised and be able to arrive at a logical conclusion on the way forward in this regard.