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Johannesburg - The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and South African Airways (SAA) on Monday is a “bold and decisive move", according to Xolani Qubeka, secretary general of the Black Business Council.
The MoU, which was signed by Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mzwandile Masina and SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni, concerns procurement opportunities to be made available for black industrialists at SAA.
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“As the Black Business Council we are very excited about the bold and decisive move that the dti and SAA have made to open opportunities for black industrialists at the SAA. This is in line with the radical economic transformation as espoused by the ruling party and President Jacob Zuma," Qubeka said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We are, therefore, looking forward to collaborating with SAA and the dti to ensure that our members and all of the black business community can access these opportunities."
He added that the announcement that black companies should access in excess of 50% of the R20bn spent by SAA on procuring goods in the next three years "was music to the ears of black businesspeople".
In his view the most important thing now is for black companies to be ready and to make sure that they are competent and able to respond appropriately to these opportunities.
"It is also important that companies, particularly those in the manufacturing sector, need to fully understand the type of market they will be accessing as a result of this agreement. SAA is a globally recognised and revered airline and the companies need to meet world standards when they supply SAA," cautioned Qubeka.
"But also more importantly, supplying SAA will enable our companies to open more doors and opportunities. Market access can also extend to other airlines.”
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Speaking at the event, Masina described the signing of the MoU as a “historic milestone". He added that it was part of the government’s radical economic transformation efforts aimed at ensuring that blacks participate actively and meaningfully in the mainstream economy.
“This is not a patronage scheme for people who are not qualified to do things. We are speaking about millions of South Africans, who are qualified and capable to provide many goods and services required by the SAA," said Masina.
"We are committing ourselves to working with SAA and other stakeholders, including business, to make sure that of the R20bn that SAA is spending on procuring goods and services, at least R10bn should go to black business,” said Masina.
He added that the dti would be assisting black entrepreneurs through its Black Industrialists Programme to enable them to take full advantage of the opportunities at SAA.
Masina said the department was engaged in consultations with the country’s developmental finance institutions to establish partnerships that will enable the programme to tap into their financial resources to support black companies.
“We will be knocking on more doors of the state-owned entities as part of our mission to open opportunities for black entrepreneurs because we believe the entities have a major role and a mandate to contribute in the transformation of the country’s economy,” said Masina.
