"MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA" CAMPAIGN
The proposed "Made in South Africa" campaign originated as the
"Buy South Africa" campaign agreement of the Presidential Jobs
Summit. One of the main aims of the campaign is to increase
employment by promoting demand for South African goods
In order to avoid clashing with World Trade Organisation (WTO)
regulations, the name of the campaign was amended from "buy" South
Africa to "made in" South Africa. In addition, WTO rules state that
such a campaign may not be the primary responsibility of a
government. The Department of Trade and Industry therefore proposed
that Nedlac take ownership of the campaign through a steering
committee.
Negotiations are currently underway at Nedlac to attempt to
reach consensus on the way forward for a "Made in South Africa"
campaign. There are a number of considerations to take into account
when discussing how such a campaign would operate, such as
- How to ensure that it does not add substantial costs to
products
- How to certify goods in the least expensive manner
- Criteria for qualifying - not only local content, but quality
as well
- How to measure local content
- Whether or not one includes labour and environmental standards
as criteria - over and above meeting current legislative
requirements
- The cost of raising awareness of the campaign
- Whether there is sufficiently strong and enforceable consumer
legislation in order to protect consumers from abuse of such a
campaign
- Who would administer the campaign
The task team working on the above issues aims to complete its
work by April 2000, in time for ratification by Nedlac's highest
decision-making body the
Executive Council, in May 2000.