S economy
S economy Living lekker locally Proudly South African turns 20 this year. The company was born out of the 1998 Presidential Jobs Summit convened by the late former President Nelson Mandela, and its existence is informed by the socio-economic agenda of the country. Service Magazine speaks to CEO, Eustace Mashimbye, about localisation, the strategy at the core of government’s economic recovery. Congratulations on 20 years of success. Please share Proudly SA’s milestones over the years. Since 2016 when I became CEO and this board came in, we have worked hard at repositioning the campaign. This included reviewing the entire membership value proposition and as a result we adjusted the fee structure significantly, starting at only R500 per annum for SMMEs with a turnover of under R5-million per annum, rising to a maximum of R100 000 for large corporates with a turnover of R100-million and above. We introduced a tender monitoring system that monitors all tenders and Requests for Quotes issued by any government entity for items that are designated for local content (procurement) under the terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA). We are also able to alert members in those sectors who qualify to tender for these procurement opportunities. We are finalising our integration with the National Treasury’s Central Supplier Database, which means that any member wishing to do business with government will automatically be entered on to the Central Supplier Database by virtue of having been “vetted” by Proudly SA. We launched our online shopping and e-commerce platform www.rsamade.co.za in 2018, a site exclusively for Proudly SA member companies to list and sell their products. We work extremely closely with the dtic and have been part of the formulation and/or implementation of several sectoral masterplans (poultry, sugar, retail, clothing and textiles, among others). “Strengthening the economy in a society with significant legacy challenges and deep levels of inequality requires extraordinary measures. Growth requires deeper inclusion so that our base of enterprise is widened. If we are to develop the national consensus on growth that we urgently need, and the sense that we are in this together, it needs to be based on communities, the unemployed, workers, black entrepreneurs, women, young people and the rural poor seeing a path to jobs and prosperity.” Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, at the Black Business Council Annual Summit, 3 June 2021 30 | Service magazine
economy S What is Proudly SA’s mandate? Our mandate is to drive up levels of local procurement in the public sector by driving compliance levels with the PPPFA. We work with corporate South Africa to encourage a greater uptake of local goods and services through entire supply and value chains. We also have consumer awareness campaigns including a television commercial shot during lockdown last year, starring Dr John Kani, called Game Time. How does Proudly SA’s advocacy align with government’s objectives? Government’s objectives are to reduce inequality, poverty and unemployment. Proudly SA works actively to promote local procurement as a means of creating jobs, which in turn, assists in alleviating the other two. What are the current focus areas for Proudly SA? Proudly SA will be launching a new consumer campaign midyear, called Living Lekker Locally. It illustrates a day in the life of an average South African who can eat, drink, wear, consume, read, watch, listen, drive, etc using only Proudly SA member company products. From cosmetics and toiletries to cars, cell phones, garden equipment and much more. We aim to illustrate how easy it is to support local. Why buy local? Buying locally grown, produced and manufactured goods and services means that we are creating jobs in South Africa. If we buy imported goods, we export jobs. Buying local also ensures that the rands we spend remain in circulation in the country, contributing to the fiscus and greater economic growth. How is localisation a driver of economic growth? Essentially, it creates jobs, which means more economically active citizens who spend their money on goods. It grows the tax base. A higher demand for locally made goods “We must launch joint efforts towards an economy that creates jobs; towards a society that cares by helping the unfortunate in its ranks to help themselves.” Former President Nelson Mandela, Opening of Parliament, 6 February 1998 and services leads to the growth of companies and more investment – it is a virtuous economic cycle. How is local content applied? As far as membership of Proudly SA goes, at least 50% of the content must be incurred locally. Although we acknowledge that some components of certain items are imported, at least 50% of the cost of assembly or final cost of producing the item must have been incurred here in South Africa. Do you advocate export for South Africa? If a company is export-ready and has a product that meets international standards, we are delighted to encourage export and flying the South African flag overseas. Promoting exports is not part of our mandate, however, as our focus is on domestic consumption. “We have to step up our efforts not just to get locals to buy local, but to improve the entry of our goods, products and services into export markets as well. We have to save existing jobs and stimulate the economy for new ones to be created. “Businesses that were on the brink of collapse during Covid-19 have to be rebuilt, and new ones formed. It is for all of these reasons that localisation and local procurement is essential.” President Cyril Ramaphosa, Proudly South African Summit and Expo, 9 March 2021 Service magazine | 31
