Director of proceedings
Honourable Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Councillor Mlaba
Chairperson of our department’s Portfolio Committee, Mr Ntombela
Head of Department, Ms Coetzee
Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of our Public Entities
Leaders of the Business Community and Organised Labour
Distinguished guests
Members of the media present
Fellow compatriots
Ladies and gentlemen
We are delighted to be part of this auspicious occasion where we are, once again, celebrating strides and efforts made by our men and women in advancing our campaign directed at building an economy that creates opportunity for all and ensuring that we breathe life, through economic transformation, to the vision of a South Africa that is characterised by equality and prosperity.
The introduction of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) as part of the countries move from the previous oppressive and racially based economic system to one characterised by equality and inclusion, is one of the key pillars towards the promotion of social justice in this country.
As much as this policy approach has been successful, we are aware that it has not been without its critics who feel that we should have retained the status quo at the expense of the majority of our people languishing in grinding poverty and other social ills – not because of their inept and disinterested attitude towards life, but because the previous laws had blocked them accessing quality education that would have prepared them to pursue careers and professions of their choices.
As we all know, the apartheid system demarcated the nature and size of space in which black people could engage in business to contribute towards the socio-economic advancement of their communities and the country as whole. While we made the democratic breakthrough almost sixteen years ago, we must acknowledge that the damage of centuries of exclusion cannot be addressed in a mere 16 years. The task of economic transformation will be a long and arduous one but, at the same time, when achieved, will mark a gigantic leap in practicalising the emancipation of our people.
It is therefore critical that as stewards and role-players steering the process of economic transformation, while celebrating the successes we have notched so far, we should not be sidetracked and deviate from the path we have chosen. Our work is far from over.
Programme Director, awards ceremonies are, by their very nature, grand occasions, occasions for celebration. The mere fact that this evening we are hosting this, the 9th offering of the Umyezane Business Awards, assumes that indeed there is something to celebrate regarding the implementation of our economic transformation agenda. As government, we do not doubt that indeed major strides have been made in transforming both the form and content of our economic landscape in line with the focal point of our struggle to build a South Africa fit for her people.
Awards, in any sphere of human endeavour, are there to acknowledge extraordinary achievement, encourage the quest for excellence in a given field and to enthuse others who may be unsure about taking the plunge that indeed they too can do it. In this context, awards are not an end but a means to an end. It is precisely because of the stature and store that we put on awards that the process choosing a winner, whether there is a set criteria, should be beyond reproach because if there is even a whiff of doubt that the award may have gone to an undeserving person or entity, then the esteem in which those awards are held is tarnished. We are pleased that, in our case, our processes have been beyond reproach and as such the Umyezane Business Awards, still maintain the value and stature that awards ordinarily should hold.
Unfortunately, programme director, at times for some competitors, winning an award becomes much more important than the work that goes into getting an award. It is not unknown for desperate and unethical individuals or entities to engage in all manner of illegal activities to ensure that they win an award. The examples of such cases are strewn over all aspects of human endeavour be it sport, business, academia etc. We should know that something is totally wrong when an award becomes more important than practical achievement on the ground. Again, we are proud to say that all the entrants to this year’s competition have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. They are all worthy of being finalists.
Why are we talking about the concept of awards and their meaning? As we said earlier on, an award is given to an individual or entity who has notched extraordinary achievement in a chosen field of operation. What we should be asking ourselves, therefore, in this regard is whether we have recorded extraordinary successes in the field of economic transformation.
As the government of KwaZulu-Natal we would be the first to admit that, while B-BBEE has made some significant contribution in carving out an economic space for the historically marginalised sections of our society, it has, at times, produced unintended consequences. These include alleged reports of fronting and manipulation of figures attributed to black economic empowerment. Among other unintended consequences has been an emergence of players in the economy who abuse their status to get rich quick without contributing meaningfully to the economy. There has also been a dearth of innovation and creativity as people chase easy riches. In other words, the rate of economic transformation is, practically, out of kilter with the numbers of black players in the economy simply because of the peripheral role that they play.
Therefore, tonight’s awards ceremony cannot afford to be only about deserved congratulation of those who have excelled, but should provide an impetus for us strive even more to deal with the challenges that threaten economic transformation and the implementation of B-BBEE.
As we implement this programme of transformation, we do this in conditions that are not of our choosing. For example, the latest labour market indicators paint a dire picture for our country and our province. The unemployment figures for KwaZulu-Natal have declined to 19,7 percent from 20,9 percent in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed persons declined from 645 000 in the last quarter to 580 000 during the third quarter. While we are pleased about the decline, we remain worried that the number of discouraged work seekers has increased to 563 000 from 504 000 in the past quarter. Therefore, if we were to use the expanded definition of unemployment, the rate of unemployment would have risen from 37 percent in the second quarter to 38,5 percent in the third quarter.
What we should be asking ourselves as business people this evening is how do we make a serious dent on these figures. These awards should help unleash the creativity that resides within this body of business players to ensure that we build a better future for our people.
Programme director, having introduced various economic permutations to address the disparities of the past, we have learned that economic development requires flexibility and willingness to adjust to new global economic trends while retaining the context of our priorities. Last month the government announced the New Growth Path model which is a response to the nation’s socio-economic challenges. This strategy is intended to address our immediate challenges such as unemployment and poverty in a meaningful way as it emphasises the activation of key sectors that have potential to generate more new job opportunities to absorb as many of our impoverished people as possible. It is therefore not a government initiative alone as it includes the role of the private sector as our strategic partners in the process of driving the country’s economy forward and critically that of organised labour as well as other social partners.
The new economic growth path sets a target of creating five million sustainable jobs in the next ten years. While to some, the projected reduction of unemployment from 25 percent to 15 percent might sound unrealistic, we are convinced that if we all fold our sleeves and work towards this common target, this is possible and has the potential of being surpassed. Yet we appreciate that this will not be an easy task but are convinced that if we know the hurdles, we would be able to develop tangible solutions to the challenges which among others, include:
- bottlenecks and backlogs in logistics, energy infrastructure and skills, which constrains economic growth and raises costs
- low domestic savings and inadequate levels of investment in the productive sectors of the economy
- economic concentration and price collusion in key parts of the economy which raises costs and limits innovations and new enterprise development
- uncompetitive currency that limits employment growth in manufacturing, mining, agriculture and tourism
- a persistent balance of trade deficit funded with short term capital inflows attracted largely by high interest rates by International standards.
These impediments, ladies and gentlemen are not unshakeable if we, as I indicated, pull together and share our diverse strategic and capability strengths. The New Economic Growth Path has set clearly defined targets to place the economy mainly on a production based trajectory that would exploit the potency of at least ten job creating economic drivers. As a first step, government will focus on unlocking the employment potential in six key sectors that could have visible complementary impact on the creation of more job opportunities and these include:
- Infrastructural development, through massive expansion of transport, energy, water, communications capacity and housing, underpinned by a strong focus on domestic industry to supply the components for the build programmes
- The agricultural value chain, with a focus on expanding farm output and employment and increasing the agro-processing sector
- The mining value chain, with a particular emphasis on mineral beneficiation as well as on increasing the rate of minerals extraction. The green economy, with programmes in green energy, component manufacture and services
- Tourism and certain high level services.
As we would all acknowledge, the New Growth Path is not that divorced from the content of the key economic priorities we identified last year during the Provincial Economic Recovery Summit that sought to come up with strategic interventions to halt the impact of the recession on our province’s economy as it was evident that the rigors of the global meltdown were ravaging our employment profile. We are therefore grateful that inputs that emerged during last year’s gathering are reflected in the new government’s economic plan – which augurs well for the province’s response to the country’s economic development.
More importantly is that we are continuously engaging ourselves as government and our social partners on various issues relating to the implementation of the B-BBEE programme which is critical in maximising public awareness about possible sanctions that could be meted on those ignoring empowerment processes. At the same time we want to emphasise the benefits that could be accrued by individual enterprises and the general society if we live up to the content and context of black economic empowerment since this would bring about socio-economic equity for sustainable democratic stability.
Tonight’s event is preceded by the B-BBEE Conference that was held right in this venue on the 31 August to 1 September 2010 in this venue. The conference, which is part of our continuous effort to engage various stakeholders and social partners to share strategies on advancing B-BBEE, highlighted several challenges in terms of B-BBEE implementation, which therefore requires our joint solutions to respond to the fact that:
- The rate of poverty and unemployment is high amongst B-BBEE target group in the province. This must serve as a basis for all the role players to fast track the implement of B-BBEE in the province
- Various organisational structures in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) are not truly reflective of the provincial demographics. Blacks are still excluded from key economic sector in the province. Except when they are sub-contracted to perform menial work which does not have much economic benefits
- B-BBEE implementation across various sectors in the Province is extremely slow. There is no implementation of relevant B-BBEE Sectors Charters
- The representation of youth and women in various economic sectors in the Province is slow. Most of economic Sectors are dominated by white male with little option for youth and women to climb the economic ladder
- The current negative perceptions from big companies in KZN are that B-BBEE Companies are high risk. This perception serves as the basis of their decisions when it comes to B-BBEE opportunities which make it hard for SMMEs to be entrusted with big business opportunities
- There are no market opportunities for B-BBEE companies in the Province, and the selection criteria for financial assistance do not promote B-BBEE ideals. Most organisations in KZN are not complying with B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. There are too many standards applied by various organisations when dealing with B-BBEE companies. Taking for example, in certain circumstances KZN BEE Companies are required to produce B-BBEE Verification Certificates when submitting their tenders, however to some this is not a requirement.
In assessing the journey that has been traveled in the implementation of the B-BBEE in this province we believe that we should be honest and frank so that we can collectively deal with these challenges in a holistic fashion whilst at the same time we recognised good practices and selfless contributions made by both emerging and established enterprises in advancing black economic empowerment.
In order to attain our goals, we need more visionaries and agents of transformation who look beyond the narrow goal of improving their own economic fortunes while the majority of their fellow compatriots remain locked in abject poverty.
Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment is a tool for social transformation. This means that our approach as entrepreneurs is slightly altered from the normal wheeling and dealing and chasing of profit margins at all costs that normally characterise the world of business. Role-players in the B-BBEE environment, from entrepreneurs to fund administrators, therefore, need to understand the transformation imperatives inherent in the programme. This understanding will then dictate that all of us engage in B-BBEE deals not only to get high returns from our selected ventures or to fulfill the conditions of the quota system, but to make evident contribution towards nation building.
Tonight, we are here to honour individuals and companies that have pushed the frontiers of excellence despite the prevailing circumstances deeply entrenched within the structure of the provincial economy. They are indeed good examples to all of us. This evening we will be presenting B-BBEE awards to the best provincial business organisations as per the following categories:
- Best owned and managed cooperative of the year.
- Best youth owned and business of the year.
- Best small, micro or medium enterprises of the year
- Best black owned and managed business of the year
- Best women owned and managed business of the year.
Additionally, we will also be presenting Special B-BBEE Award to the company that has stood shoulder high above the rest and has served as an example for real B-BBEE implementation in the province. As mentioned earlier, our mission is to recognise positive contribution towards the promotion of socio-economic empowerment and this enterprise represent just that vision and is the highlight of many others that are making tangible endeavors in assisting government create equal grounds for economic development in the province.
These are heroes and heroines that deserve the highest awards one could confer to acknowledge exceptional effort. It was because of this reason that we decided the best we could express our appreciation for the role played by businesses in driving the empowerment agenda, would be to call our awards, uMyezane, which is the highest accolade presented to Zulu warriors that have proved their dexterity in the service of their people.
I would like to conclude by extending my gratitude to the judges who worked tireless long hours to make this award ceremony another resounding success. Critically, we want to congratulate all those who put their hat in the ring. Indeed, you have done us and your own companies a huge honour. Whatever the outcome this evening, you must know that yours is more than just engaging in business but you are implementing a programme that is a physical expression of our freedom. May you all have a wonderful festive season.
I thank you.
