"Government's commitment to women in business"
Acknowledgements
The Chinese say, "When the winds of change blow, some people build shelters, and some build windmills."
The global recession has certainly brought pain but it can also be an opportunity for gender change especially in board rooms. British gender dynamics expert Pauline Crawford raised eyebrows when she wrote that the current global downturn has been fuelled by an arrogance, risk taking and poor decision making of a male dominated financial sector.
There need for more women in the board room. The latest Catalyst research that was published in July 2008 found that the number of women on a company's board is directly connected to the future number of women in its senior management ranks. The analysis revealed that the companies in the Fortune 500 companies with the largest representation of women board directors and corporate officers achieve, on average, higher financial performance. The Fortune 500 companies are a list of top global companies over the world.
It is encouraging to know that we don't have to stand back one millimetre for our male counterparts. The South African government believes in our women. We are all familiar with the African proverb that says: to educate a boy is to educate an individual, but to educate a girl is to educate a whole nation.
We have made great strides in reversing the past regime's legacy of deliberate under-development and there are many inspiring stories about women, who have grown from humble beginnings to well respected business women.
The increasing number of women in parliament and senior management positions in government is also proof of government’s commitment to women. Half of the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet is now women. Women in leadership send a critical message to people entering the workforce. Simply by being at the top encourage pipeline women to aspire to senior positions. But while there has been an increase at the top of the pyramid, there is scope for more and much more should be done for women in the bottom part of the pyramid.
Given the developmental state of our country government has to be pro-active in addressing these imbalances. Our preferential procurement system, which gives bonus points to companies owned by women when tenders are awarded, is probably government's most well known incentive. A good example of how this system has helped previously marginalised women are the success stories of some of the women contractors who was appointed in 2004 to help the provincial Department of Education with the building of classrooms, toilets and other infrastructure.
The fast track programme, using emerging contractors from the pool of youth and women entrepreneurs, was introduced in addition to the normal infrastructure programme. Today all these projects are Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) projects. Labour Intensive Construction methods are implemented and systems have been put in place for proper record keeping of labourers that have been trained and worked.
An indication of the training and involvement of women in the construction industry is evident in the fast track four and five programmes where 49% of the total contract values for the 2008/09 financial year were given to women-owned contractors. This amounts to more than R70 million in female pockets. The small contractors were given the opportunity to grow from GB 1 of the CIDB rating to GB5, enabling them to compete with construction giants such as Murray and Roberts and Group Five in the construction industry.
This programme has really been a success story and many women are now running sustainable enterprises and tendering for big contracts due to their upgraded CIDB ratings. Sadly some women don't make it in business – as the damning statistics of liquidations of small businesses in South Africa will tell you.
What makes one business flourish and another die? It is important to realise that while women are given preferential treatment when it comes to the awarding of tenders they must also step up and deliver an equal service. Government wants value for money and you will be hearing this more and more. Value for money entails in addition to the cost of goods and services quality, resource use, fitness for purpose, timeliness and convenience.
"You must ask yourself: "Are the people happy with my product or service?" Quality of service is crucial if you want to sustain your business. When the roof of a classroom or house blows off with the first wind because the contractor did not use the specified nails which should be of a certain length, we will certainly not use that contractor again. Look after your reputation – it is crucial so secure the next job, whether it is in government or in the private sector.
Some women spend their lives chasing government tenders without having a service or product to offer. They rush off to get onto government's data base and may eventually secure a huge job. When they don't have the capacity they immediately outsource and pay someone else to do the job not learning anything in the process.
Others do have the capacity but spend all their energy on that one huge job that they have secured with government. They do not look for new business and after the completion of the government tender their businesses die. Ladies, we must start to think globally. There are no limitations. Not only will the new airport bring in tourists but it will also open up opportunities to export perishables, e.g. vegetables, flowers, etc.
So much has been done for women empowerment and we are getting support from all spheres. But we as women must use those opportunities. We must find business
– business will not find us. All departments and municipalities have gender desks. Contact them; find out what projects the departments and municipalities are planning. Get more detail from the relevant departments on their strategies to procure services through co-operatives and small business. Put out your feelers and contact people to find out what are the wants and needs of the different markets.
Touch base with the local chambers’ Women Empowerments' Desks. They often offer workshops and training free of charge. Learn from other people in the industry and network. If you don't network, your business will not grow. Co-operatives and small businesses are assisted through credit schemes to grow their operations using financial development institutions (FDIs) such as Ithala, to ensure sustainability. But before you register a co-operative, make sure that you and your partners have the same interests and a common goal. Make sure that you know and trust each other that your product or service will be sustainable. Access to finances is often an obstacle for many women wanting to go into business and a lot has still to be done.
I strongly believe that the Provincial Treasury has a major role to play in promoting financial literacy in KwaZulu-Natal. Financial literary, which includes saving, is at very low and almost insignificant levels in South Africa. I agree with Minister Pravin Gordhan that not enough has been done in the areas of financial education and economic literacy for South Africans.
Provincial Treasury cannot give you money. But we are willing to assist with training. Be it workshops to inform you about cash flow management or explaining how tender and other procedures work or how to register on the database and how the supply chain of government works, we are there to support you.
In the words of our Premier: "we invite the people of KwaZulu-Natal to join us in taking the first step of a long and arduous journey to create a better future for our country and all future generations. It is a hard journey, but it is full of hope and optimism. Let us work together to create that hope for a better future."
Let sisters do it for sisters!
Issued by: Department of Finance, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
31 July 2009
Source: Department of Finance, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
(http://www.kzntreasury.gov.za)
