South African Clothing and Textile Sector Fine: Minister Davies

Two articles –same story


Comment
“Social partners such as trade unions have committed to buying local” … WTF … shouldn’t they be leading by example and already doing this? How do you ask the private sector to support local when unions that should be protecting, saving and providing the space for employment growth have only now “committed” to support SA manufacturers? They should be demonstrating their support by providing examples of their local procurement.


Speaking at the Clothing and Textile Industries National Bargaining Council annual general meeting yesterday, Mr Davies said a competitiveness programme had been a significant factor stimulating growth in the sector.


At the end of September, close to 58000 people were employed in the textile industry, a slight improvement from the 56985 employed in December last year, Mr Davies said.

"The third quarter of this year was very problematic and troubling for South African manufacturers as well as the rest of the world. We saw the onset of the European debt crisis and we saw manufacturing industries around the world showing signs of strain," Mr Davies said.

"In SA we found that many of the industrial subsectors started to turn into negative territory as far as growth prospects are concerned, but what stood out is that this industry (clothing) was not one of those. This industry has continued to grow and stabilise."

Mr Davies said the competitiveness incentive measures would in future be applied to other manufacturing sectors.  He said 105 companies had taken up the clothing incentives to the value of R112m. Production incentives had been paid to 199 companies and the approvals amounted to R624m. "This has been a lesson to us, and we have indicated in the medium-term budget policy statement that there will be some additional programmes to support manufacturing in general," Mr Davies said.

He cautioned that challenges remained, one of which was the fight against illegal clothing imports, which negatively affected the sector.  "We have also stepped up our campaigns on illegal imports... I do not believe we have cracked the problem of illegal imports. The challenge of the illicit economy remains a very serious one in SA," Mr Davies said.  Amanda Cronje, chairwoman of the bargaining council, said yesterday there was evidence that the clothing industry might be recovering from the economic difficulties it faced.   Although imports from China continued to grow, the Chinese market share in SA had shrunk from 75% to 71%, she said.

Reference: Business Day, 30 November 2011

Textile sector weathers global financial storm

The clothing and textile industry has been little affected by the recent global financial crisis as the competitiveness programme had helped stimulate it, says Trade & Industry Minister Rob Davies.

Speaking at the Clothing & Textile Industries National Bargaining Council annual general meeting on Tuesday, Davies pointed to employment numbers in the sector having increased slightly over the past year.  He said that by September 30 there were 57,728 people employed in the textile industry, slightly higher than the 56,985 in October 2010.  "This is telling us a huge story," Davies said. "As you all know the third quarter was extremely problematic for the manufacturing industries with the onset of the European debt crisis.

"The strain that was experienced by many of the industrial subsectors was problematic and many slipped into negative territory. This industry (clothing and textiles) was not one of those," he said.  Davies said that as afar as he was concerned the Production Incentive Model that had been applied to the clothing and textile industry had helped this and that it would be applied to other manufacturing sectors.

Referring to the onset of the 2008/09 recession when the country lost up to one million jobs, Davies said the biggest casualty then was the manufacturing sector, that had contracted by 200,000 jobs.  "We cannot afford for this to happen again," Davies said.

He went on to say that the medium-term budget policy statement had announced additional competitiveness incentive measures that would be followed through in the national budget of 2012 and that the lessons from applying the incentives used in the clothing and textile sector could be generalised and applied to other manufacturing sectors.  Davies said that 105 companies had taken up the incentives in the competitive improvement program to the value of R112 million. The production incentives, that came into existence from April 2011 to October 2011, resulted in 199 companies benefitting and the approvals amounted to R624 million.  "This is to get manufacturers to invest and raise their competitiveness. No longer can they just sweat the assets, running the factories until no longer possible and then fire the workers," Davies said.

He also pointed that the Preferential Procurement Framework Regulations would come into effect from December 7.  These, Davies said, would allow government procurement officers to purchase locally manufactured workwear, bedding and linen.  Davies said social partners such the trade unions had also committed themselves to buying promotional material such as T-Shirts locally and that business had agreed to review its own procurement policies.

Reference: 29 November, TimesLive, BusinessLive

SA Minister violates parliamentary code of conduct-again

South Africa: Why Didn't Deputy Minister Godongwana Declare His Interests in Tyalibongo Trust?

28 November 2011

________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE

Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Enoch Godongwana (a real oxymoron – DM of Economic Development), has violated the Parliamentary Code of Conduct again. I will be writing to Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests for the second time to report Deputy Minister Godongwana's violation of the rules.

This morning it was reported in the Star that the Deputy Minister received a R1.9 million plot from the Tyalibongo trust, but the latest register of member's interests does not include any information on this trust under Deputy Minister Godongwana's name.

This follows shortly after the Deputy Minister failed to disclose his interests in Canyon Springs Investments - a company that reportedly defrauded textile workers' pension funds.

Deputy Minister Godongwana has consistently attempted to conceal the true value of his assets, preferring to hide the information under layers of trusts and holding companies.

When questioned about the failure to disclose his R1.9 million plot, the Deputy Minister said that it was held in the Tyalibongo trust and therefore he didn't directly own it. But this raises two serious questions:

• Why isn't his interest in Tyalibongo trust disclosed; and

• Why, if the Deputy Minister is both listed as the primary donor and beneficiary of the trust, is this R1.9 million plot not disclosed under the "property" section of the Register of Members' Interests?

There are three undeniable facts that cast serious suspicion over the integrity of this Deputy Minister. We know he had an interest in Canyon Springs Investments. We know that Canyon Springs Investments defrauded textile workers' pension funds. And we know that the Deputy Minister has done everything in his power to conceal his financial information from Parliament.

With these three facts in mind I will insist that the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests conduct a full investigation into the Minister's failure to declare his assets.

Kobus Marais, DA Spokesperson on Economic Development

__________________

Meanwhile the Times Live reports:

Workers' pensions shock

PHILANI NOMBEMBE The inquiry investigating the loss of textile workers' pensions has heard that some of the money placed in a trust of a former clothing union consultant could have been used to buy a multimillion-rand Cape Town property and a luxury car.


Erwin da Gama, a friend of the consultant, Richard Kawie, was testifying in the liquidation inquiry of Canyon Springs, a company linked to Deputy Economic Development Minister Enoch Godongwana.


Canyon Springs is accused of borrowing R93-million from Trilinear Capital, which manages provident funds for the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union.

Godongwana's wife, Thandiwe, is a director of Canyon Springs, which was supposed to repay the loan in three instalments but has failed to do so, leaving more than 15000 workers in limbo.

Da Gama told the inquiry that his company, Leading Prospect, was used as a "conduit" to move R15-million from Canyon Springs to Pasima, a family trust run by Sam Buthelezi, owner of the Trilinear group of companies.

Da Gama said he paid R13-million of the money into the trust and some of it to Kawie's lawyers. He admitted that his two other companies owed Canyon Springs R4-million.

He said the R15-million loan agreements he signed were not "genuine" and that the liquidators should order Kawie and Buthelezi to repay the money.

The union's counsel, Gavin Woodland SC, said Kawie's family trust, in which Da Gama was a trustee, bought property in upmarket Noordhoek for R4.5-million and a BMW 528i used by Kawie's wife, Vanya, apparently with money from Canyon Springs.

He urged Da Gama to cooperate with the liquidators. Both Kawie and Buthelezi have launched court actions apparently to avoid testifying before the inquiry. Kawie is expected to testify today.


29 November, 2011

 

Clothing union's office in Newcastle gutted by fire: arson?

PRESS RELEASE

21 NOVEMBER 2011
SACTWU OFFICES IN NEWCASTLE BURNT DOWN

The offices of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) in Newcastle were gutted by fire last week on Monday 14 November 2011. The destruction of our premises comes in the wake of moves by the union to highlight atrocious labour and human rights' abuses occurring in clothing factories in this KwaZulu-Natal town. It also follows efforts by SACTWU, the clothing bargaining council, the Department of Labour and the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that Newcastle clothing companies comply with South African labour laws and industry agreements.

We have previously indicated our knowledge of threats against the safety of some of our officials in reprisal for raids conducted at some Newcastle clothing companies in late September 2011. We therefore urge the Newcastle authorities to investigate the possibility of arson. We also categorically state that SACTWU shall not be deterred from our fight for decent work for clothing workers in Newcastle.

Issued by Andre Kriel, SACTWU General Secretary.

Benetton “Unhate” campaign: Will it lead to sales?

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) --

Benetton Group SpA (BEN) is better at courting controversy than selling clothes.

The company withdrew a doctored image of Pope Benedict XVI kissing an imam from the “Unhate” advertising campaign the same day it was introduced after criticism from the Vatican. Other images from the series appearing online and on billboards feature U.S. President Barack Obama locking lips with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and French President Nicolas Sarkozy embracing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Translating shock into sales is proving a tougher task as Italy’s largest clothing company falls further behind fast- fashion retailers Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) and Inditex SA (ITX), owner of the Zara chain. Annual sales are expected to be 2.06 billion euros ($2.8 billion), according to 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, less than the 2.1 billion euros in 2001. Benetton, which has lost two-thirds of its market value in the same period, fell 17 percent this week to the lowest since its initial public offering in July 1986.

“Gimmicks or ads alone won’t do,” said Luca Solca, global head of European research at CA Chevreux. “Benetton should focus on improving its retail fundamentals instead -- lead time, product ideas, value for money.”

Benetton Unhate Campaign (uncensore​d)

Alessandro Benetton of the Benetton Group spoke to CNN's Juliet Mann about the company's new ad campaign

 

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This profound and humane concept of tolerance sums up the principles inspiring the UNHATE CAMPAIGN, which Benetton has created with the aim of contrasting the culture of hatred and promoting closeness between peoples, faiths, cultures, and the peaceful understanding of each other's motivations, using a global call to action and the latest communication tools. The worldwide communication campaign UNHATE, which is the first initiative by the newly-formed foundation of the same name, has been presented in a worldwide preview by Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman of Benetton Group, on Wednesday 16 November in Paris, at the flagship store in Boulevard Haussmann.

"While global love is still a utopia, albeit a worthy one, the invitation 'not to hate', to combat the 'culture of hatred', is an ambitious but realistic objective," explains Alessandro Benetton. "At this moment in history, so full of major upheavals and equally large hopes, we have decided, through this campaign, to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of tolerance and invite the citizens of every country to reflect on how hatred arises particularly from fear of 'the other’ and of what is unfamiliar to us. Ours is a universal campaign, using instruments such as the internet, the world of social media, and artistic imagination, and it is unique, in that it calls the citizens of the world to action. At the same time, it fits perfectly with the values and history of Benetton, which chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale, and in doing so has given a sense and a value to its brand, building a lasting dialogue with the people of the world."

The UNHATE communication project includes a series of coordinated initiatives and events, starting on 16 November in the main newspapers, periodicals and websites around the world. The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders, such as: Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao; Pope Benedict XVI and Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo (the most important and moderate centre for Sunni Islamic studies in the world); the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These are symbolic images of reconciliation - with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation - to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, even when they are divergent and mutually opposed, must still lead to dialogue and mediation.

The new campaign, the creation of the Foundation and the other initiatives of the UNHATE project reflect Benetton's wish to drive the desire for participation and change that animates the world's citizens, and especially the young, inviting them to play an active, central role in its initiatives, particularly through the internet, social media and other digital applications. This marks a further step forward in Benetton's communications, which elicit intervention and action from everybody, in the name of an "expanded", open democracy, without physical, political, social or ideological boundaries.

Decrease in jobs lost in clothing industry - union

The South African clothing union reports good news for the industry.

South Africa

PRESS STATEMENT

14 NOVEMBER 2011

SIGNIFICANT SLOWDOWN IN CLOTHING, TEXTILE AND FOOTWEAR JOB LOSSES

The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) held its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting from 10 to 12 November 2011 in Cape Town.  During the NEC discussion on the union's Save Jobs Campaign, a report on the state of the clothing, textile, footwear and leather (CTFL) industry was tabled.

This report showed a significant slowdown in retrenchments in the industry. According to the report and based on information from the union's job loss database, the industry experienced a drop of more than 50% in jobs lost in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Compared to 2009, the picture is even rosier with 64% fewer jobs lost.

This slowdown is mainly attributed to the assistance for the CTFL industry by government in the form of support measures to increase factories' competitiveness and a programme to deal with customs fraud. SACTWU's efforts to increase demand for local goods and to ensure the full implementation of the industry development strategy through its Save Jobs Campaign were also highlighted as a significant contributor.

ISSUED BY ANDRE KRIEL, SACTWU GENERAL SECRETARY

• We are sure the industry would be very interested to have an opportunity to review the study.
• More informaiton on the union's Save Jobs Campaign would be apprecaited.

Can SA apparel sector meet Zara’s expectations?

Comments by The ReDress Consultancy

Zara the leader in fast fashion quick response apparel production opened in Sandton last week. Their ability to reproduce short runs, fashionable and on-trend products cost effectively has resulted in the Spanish company being found in about 80 cities across the world. The key to their winning formula is their flexible  productivity ability, low production cost, quality products and market intellegence. Interlaced with delicate and refined communication and interaction throughout their value-chain Zara has the ability to convert creative catwalk fashion into commercial sellable products quickly, effectively and cost efficiently. The question I ask will they be able to tap into our local apparel/textile industry and receive the same output? How much local production will they procure?

With Adcorp’s latest Employment Index indicating that productivity in South Africa has fallen will our apparel and textile sector be able to meet Zara’s expectations?

SA's labour productivity at 40-year low

Johannesburg - South Africa's labour productivity fell to its lowest level in 40 years in October, according to the Adcorp Employment Index released on Thursday. "While no significant changes in all kinds of jobs - formal, informal, permanent and temporary - were seen during October, South Africa's labour productivity fell to its lowest level in 40 years," Adcorp said. Labour productivity growth - a leading indicator of job creation - has been negative throughout 2011. "This negative trend in labour productivity suggests that adding more workers does not necessarily translate into material increases in business output," said Adcorp labour market analyst Loane Sharp. The index for October shows employment dropped slightly in the mining (-7.8%), construction (-7.0%) and manufacturing (-4.5%) sectors on an annual basis.

Reference: Fin24.com, 11 November 2011

The Productivity-Wage Relationship In South Africa: An Empirical Investigation

The aim of this paper is to investigate the empirical relationship between productivity, real wages and unemployment in South Africa using appropriate time series econometric techniques. Year of study 2003

Click here to read paper.

South African clothing union says not all is gloomy

Press Statement from Sactwu

8 NOVEMBER 2011

CLOTHING INDUSTRY STRATEGY STARTING TO WORK

On 5 November 2011, the Mail & Guardian published an article on the changing fortunes of the local clothing and textile industry, written by SACTWU's Research Director, Etienne Vlok. (The piece was in response to an article that appeared in the same edition of the newspaper.) However the published

article was a shorter version of our initial submission to the newspaper and hence we provide a copy of the original article below:

Clothing Industry Strategy Is Starting To Work

All is not gloom in the local clothing and textile industry. Clothing industry employment is stabilising, according to the job loss database of the SA Labour Research Institute (SALRI), which records actual industry retrenchments, liquidations and factory closures. Stats SA too shows that in the last three quarters, 2,500 jobs were lost in the industry - significantly lower than before when considering that Stats SA also recorded clothing employment dropping from 120,000 in 2002 to 52,400 currently.

We also receive increasing reports of factories hiring new workers and even of new factories in the pipeline. This was unimaginable a few years ago.

The industry strategy - forged in 2007 between the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU), clothing and textile businesses and government - was finally implemented in 2009. It is starting to pay off. It includes significant new programmes to upskill workers and managers, to replace old machinery, to reorganise work processes and to increase productivity.

Support is also available to companies needing working capital to fulfil orders. SARS is targeting customs fraud more aggressively too. The strategy's aim is to stabilize (and even grow) employment by re-engineering companies to be more competitive in relation to imports. It may even create the basis for exporting in future - as was seen in the industry's last boom in the early 2000s.

The strategy seeks three key outcomes: to make price less significant by exploiting the locational advantage of manufacturers to local retailers: in other words, more quickly delivering orders to customers; to move the bulk of production to higher value added products which do not compete with the mass of cheap imports; and respect workers' rights and their need to earn a decent wage.

A rough analogy for the vision exists in Germany, where a high wage economy still supports a substantial manufacturing sector because of high productivity and high value added products.

State intervention is crucial in the game of international competition and industrial development. However SACTWU also recognises that industry stakeholders themselves must play their part. We do this through our 'Jobs Campaign'. It includes local procurement advocacy with government and retailers, and monitoring relevant tenders advertised by the State, bringing them to the attention of local manufacturers. At factory level we actively participate in mergers and acquisitions, factory rescues and training layoff schemes. On the trade front, we have secured increased duties for certain finished products following an application to government, and we monitor WTO and bilateral trade negotiations to ensure optimal outcomes for the industry.

We also play our part in the fight against customs fraud. We continuously monitor monthly trade data and alert SARS to under-invoicing problems. Through extensive engagement at Nedlac, we've also introduced many amendments to the latest customs legislation - strengthening it in relation to illegal imports.

With government support measures, we analyse their impact and advocate for changes to their rules where this ensures the best benefit to workers and the industry. Bizarrely for a trade union, we market the incentives to companies through e-mails and fax shots, and regularly advise companies on the support measures that would best suit their circumstances.

We've focussed on improving productivity too - though not in the narrow sense which simply squeezes workers. We have helped craft a piece-rate productivity system for the industry, designed for non-metro areas. It works in the same way as Lesotho's system: piece work is allowed but a minimum income must be assured. We have also trained workers on methods-time measurement (MTM) and general sewing data, piloted performance improvement projects with the ILO in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and proposed and adopted a wage-linked productivity incentive scheme in 2009 at the clothing bargaining council.

Our efforts have complemented those of the State, helping to shift the fortunes of the industry. Admittedly much still needs to be done. For instance few companies have taken advantage of the productivity incentive schemes, and many companies remain non-compliant. These non-compliant companies employ the minority of workers in the industry - 36% of total workers now. Nevertheless their levels of employment are still significant, as is the problem they pose for the industry's development strategy.

Instead of moving forward, these companies are immobilised by their determination to fight to pay workers less money. Their argument is that local wages are too high, that they cause job losses and must decrease. They cite the deluge of jobs in the industry over the last decade as their evidence.

If these people were right, one would assume that higher wage factories would experience greater job losses than low wage factories. This is not the case. In fact proportionally, there are more job losses in non-metro areas where wages are lower than in metro areas where they are higher. Non-metro areas employ about a third of total workers, yet jobs losses from these areas in the past 9 years constituted almost 45% of total job losses.

The extreme vulnerability of non-metro areas is not primarily wage related. It is due to companies in these areas being overwhelmingly low-margin manufacturers producing low-value products, which are more easily exposed to mass-produced cheap imports. They compete with imports from highly subsidised countries or countries that peg their currencies to weaken them to make their exports cheaper. They previously blossomed in a context of support by the Apartheid State but then became vulnerable when that support

was rolled-back in the 1990s and an expedited tariff phase down was later embarked upon.

Botshabelo illustrates well the point that jobs have been lost primarily due to falling State subsidies, decreased tariffs and higher levels of imports. Many of the companies which closed in Botshabelo were not clothing companies and were therefore not affected by the apparently 'high' wage demands of SACTWU and those stipulated by the clothing bargaining council, yet they closed anyway.

Another challenge for companies has been increasing local municipal and rental costs.

The demand for lower wages in South Africa ignores these critical factors. It also ignores the fact that we cannot win at the low-wage game when countries like Bangladesh pay workers as little as R75 a week. Practically and morally, we believe, we should not even try. A race to the bottom is not sustainable.

The industry's strategy recognises these facts. This is why it seeks to steer the industry towards competitiveness not primarily based on low wages.

The strategy is currently benefiting most of the workers in the industry. It would benefit workers at non-compliant companies too, which is what we want, if those companies become compliant, accessed the incentives and re-organised themselves in line with the industry's plan.

Illegal import link to organised crime

South Africa

Illegal imports and under-invoicing of clothing and textiles is often linked to organised crime, said a senior official from the SA Revenue Service (SARS).  The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said criminal activity in textiles and clothing was not always as "mob-style" as the smuggling of illegal drugs and tobacco.

However, "big profiteers" were carrying out operations in an organised manner with unscrupulous connections throughout the supply chain.  "The game of under-invoicing is definitely a king's game, as there is some measure of risk management through supply chains," said the official.

Concerns about organised criminal activity fuelling imports of illegal textiles and garments were also voiced by the National Clothing Retail Federation of SA (NCRFSA), the SA Clothing and Textile Union (Sactu), the Apparel Manufacturers of SA (Amsa) and the largest shoe manufacturer in the country, Eddels Shoes.

NCRFSA director Michael Lawrence highlighted an incident earlier in the year in which a specialist policeman, warrant officer Johan Nortje, was shot dead in his driveway after he had intercepted a consignment of replica branded clothing from China valued at of R100-million.

"This is not a small-change problem and it is affecting different players in many different ways," said Lawrence.  Under-invoicing of goods is costing the South African economy billions of rands in tax revenue every year and is stifling local industry.  Finance minister Pravin Gordhan has said the country will lose out on an estimated R13-billion of tax revenue in the current fiscal year, bringing the year's deficit to almost R165-billion.

During the past financial year, SARS referred 149 criminal cases to the National Prosecuting Authority, most of them related to smuggling. From these, 56 convictions were obtained.  SARS commissioner Oupa Magashula said at a recent National Economic Development and Labour Council session that raids and seizures of illicit goods had been prioritised by SARS. Goods to the value of R180-million were seized in raids during 2010 and 2011.

SARS figures show that about 70% of all clothing and textiles in SA are imported goods, while Sactu research reveals that almost a third of the country's clothing market is made up of illicit goods.  A recent study carried out by the department of trade and industry found a 60% difference between what China said it had sold in clothing to SA and what local authorities recorded as coming in.

Amsa director Johann Baard said imports from China recorded by SA customs were R6.7-billion in 2010, which suggests under-invoicing of clothing imports from China alone came to more than R10-billion a year. Baard said this was more than the total value of all declared clothing imports in 2010, which was R9-billion.

Sactu research director Etienne Vlok said that under-invoicing was negating SA's export duties.  SARS numbers showed women's woven trousers were being imported at an average cost of R7.33 a unit, while men's knitted trousers were imported at an average price of just over R12 a unit.  "This gives some indication of the level of under-invoicing that is taking place and the chances that people are taking.

"This has serious implications for not only the fiscus, but also for government's efforts to create additional jobs through its New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan," said Vlok. SA imposes 45% duty on imported finished garments to protect local manufacturers. Yet the clothing and textile sector has been declining over the past three decades. Baard said that while illegal imports were not the only reason for the decline, it had added additional pressures to an already stressed industry.

Every year about R1.5-trillion worth of goods move through SA's borders, with an average of 600 trucks a day passing through the Beit Bridge and Lebombo border posts alone. This makes it difficult for SARS to strike a balance between moving legitimate goods swiftly through checkpoints and ensuring that vehicles carrying illicit goods are detected, said Magashula.  SARS has mandated customs officials to focus on textiles and other imported products, targeting undervalued imports. However, the SARS official pointed out that the customs agency on its own could never solve the smuggling problem.

Reference:   LONI PRINSLOO, Business Times, 5 November 2011

The ReDress Consultancy has spoken at lengeth and highlighted the urgent need to address the scourge of illegal imports.


 Sunday, 11 July 2010

South Africa’s Fashion Industry must tackle illegal imports
South Africa’s fashion sector once again missed an opportunity to highlight specific “fashion-nomics” that are hindering this vital link within the apparel and textile value-chain. Africa Fashion International through the Africa Fashion Awards could have used this platform to create awareness about one issue that is impacting on the industry providing an educational platform for fashion consumers and that is the illegal imports flooding our country.


Thursday, 10 May 2007

Chinese Clothing still being imported in South Africa
Durban - Rumours are rife in the clothing and textile industry that retailers, buyers and importers are breaking the law by continuing to import goods from China but are rerouting them through India, where “Made in India” labels are attached to the garments. The rumors surfaced while Renato Palmi – a researcher and development specialist in the clothing, textile and fashion sector was undertaking research for the Durban Fashion Council.

Buy South African made products

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System

Date: 31 Oct 2011

Title: Boost for local producers

Pretoria - The term "local is lekker" was given a new meaning today when government, unions and the private sector all signed a deal committing the country to increasing its target of procuring locally manufactured goods to 75 percent.

In a landmark agreement signed in Pretoria organised by labour movements, Cabinet ministers and the business sector, the stakeholders further committed to identify steps that will be taken by social partners to ensure that South Africa increases the speed of job creation and that the country regains the jobs lost during the financial crisis that hit world markets from 2008.

They said the deal was a boost to the local industry and job creation in a country where unemployment stood at more than 25 percent.

"The significance of this accord is that decisions will now be taken on buying local goods and this in the end will go a long way in raising our competitiveness and development of local producers," Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel told reporters at the conclusion of the discussions on Monday.

"This Accord is one of a series of agreements in which social partners commit to work together to achieve the goals of the new Growth Path," Patel said. Government wants to the new Growth to help create five million new jobs by 2020.

Under his leadership and that of Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, government committed to "significantly" expand the value of goods and services it procures from local producers using new regulations that are set to come into effect in December.

Davies emphasised that only locally produced goods will be targeted, adding that company ownership will not necessarily qualify individuals for procurement. "The fact that ownership of the company is held by South Africans will not count; we are targeting proudly South African products meaning products must have been produced in South Africa."

Several products and services will be identified to allow only local manufacturers to produce these. They include railway equipment, clothing and textile and food products. While it is still not clear how this will impact on foreign investors, Patel said the initiative had a potential of directing billions of Rands to local producers, something which he said will in turn boost the local economy. Government departments will adopt an SABS standard to identify and define local content in various categories.

Business said it will drive the effort in the private sector to improve local buying by the country's 84 largest companies.

"As business we see this as yet another tool to contribute towards economic transformation... we are now beyond talking action," said Business Unity SA CEO Nomaxabiso Njokweni. The deal would not only help improve local competitiveness but will go a long way in developing new enterprises and boosting existing ones, she said.

COSATU's Zwelinzima Vavi described the move as a "milestone in reversing the wrong things that we have seen happening".

"... I must say it has a potential to reverse the job losses and other things that are happening in the manufacturing sector. Our task now is to mobilise ordinary masses of our people to support the initiative of buying local," Vavi said. - BuaNews