Day: September 21, 2022

The South African flag is increasingly decorating labels on garments at major retail chains across the country. It’s an effort to bolster the country’s clothing and textile sector.

More than half of the textiles sold by South African retailers are imported from abroad, according to the government, and nearly 60% of those imports come from China.

Retailers signing on to a master plan by the government to support local businesses say there are more benefits than just job creation.

Hazel Pillay, general manager of retailer Pick n Pay Clothing, said, “Being able to have the product made locally means that you can actually respond to what the customer needs more efficiently, which is really what every retailer wants — to move towards more fast response.”

Pick n Pay Clothing is among the retailers such as Woolworth’s, Mr. Price and Truworth’s increasing their supplies of locally sourced products from 28% in 2019 to 40% today. The shift is now gaining momentum on the heels of global trade disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as record unemployment.

Katekani Moreku, a young designer recruited to aid in the effort,” said, “It gave me a lot of attention and gave me a lot of publicity. In the times that we live in when there’s a very high rate of unemployment, I think that it will have a very large impact that will create more jobs for all generations.”

Moreku estimates his collaboration with Pick n Pay in 2020 created about 1,000 jobs, from manufacturing to digital marketing.

That’s what the South African government wants to see, with a target of 121,000 new textile jobs by 2030.

More investment needed

But retailers, including Pick n Pay’s Pillay, say it will require investment in skills training and support for entrepreneurs.

“Before the 2000s, yes, the skills were readily available,” Pillay said. “And as [production] moved to China, investment in skills development, the investment in machinery all disappeared. But I think if we reviewed where the local business is in another 10 years, we’re certainly going to see a recovery in some of that style of product being manufactured locally.”

That growth is necessary as the retailer aims to have 60% of all textile goods sourced locally in the next five years.

But economists warn that setting quotas and targets alone won’t be enough to rebuild the industry.

Dawie Roodt, chief economist for financial services firm Efficient Group,” said, “What you need to do if you want to get more investments in textile and more localization in textile, or any industry for that matter, is for the government to become much more efficient. Like, for example, make sure that infrastructure works properly, make sure that it’s safe to invest in South Africa and things like that.”

Regular power cuts and decaying railways are impeding local manufacturers from producing and transporting goods.

And there are other practical barriers to closing the $3 billion trade imbalance between China and South Africa.

“Keep in mind that they’ve got economies of scale,” Roodt said. “South Africa as compared to China is a relatively small country. So I don’t think it will be possible for us to really compete in a big way.”

But for budding designers, even a small boost in the local industry gives hope for success in the future.

Source: Voice of America

#ClassOf2022: 40 days to go!

We are 40 days away from the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, and it’s all systems go across our province to make sure that every single one of our candidates has the opportunity to succeed.

Matric revision support

At least 23 000 learners will attend Spring School over the coming school holiday, adding to the very successful Winter School held earlier this year.

Districts have also been hard at work during the 3rd term offering after-school and weekend revision classes in key subjects, providing exam support packs to candidates, holding online tutoring sessions, hosting residential camps, and motivating learners.

Every matric candidate in the province has received a matric revision pack this term. The pack contains past papers and memos in high-enrolment subjects, study tips, post-matric advice, and the pass requirements for the NSC.

It also provides candidates and their parents with all the details on when and how the results will be released, the dates for re-mark and re-check applications, and how to apply for supplementary exams after receiving their results if they would like to improve their marks.

Our ePortal contains nearly 9 000 matric-specific support resources that learners can access whenever they like. This includes revision guides, Telematics videos, marking guides, study tips, and a variety of others. A record number of 185 000 unique users accessed the ePortal during the winter holidays – we hope that our learners will make just as much use of it during the revision period!

The Grade 12 resources are available here: https://wcedeportal.co.za/resources-to-support-grade-12-learning-and-teaching(link is external)

Psycho-social support

Psycho-social support for our matrics is also being given serious attention in the run up to the exams: it is a stressful time for our matrics, and they need all the support they can get.

Social workers have been on hand during residential camps, to support learners in need and to conduct motivational sessions with matrics. Workshops are being run in schools focusing on self-care, exam anxiety, study skills, motivation, time management, relaxation and stress management skills, and a host of other topics.

Printed and online psycho-social support materials are available to learners, and individual counselling and support is being made available to learners who need it. We urge any learner struggling to cope with the pressure to approach their teacher for help, or to contact the Safe Schools hotline on 0800 45 46 47 (toll free).

Load shedding

Once again, we approach the exam period having to contend with load shedding. This is extremely disappointing, and is understandably causing concern for our learners.

We will do everything we can to prevent load shedding from compromising the integrity of the matric exams in the Western Cape.

Contingency measures are being put in place to ensure that every aspect of the examination process can continue, from the printing of papers to the marking of scripts. We call on Eskom and our local government partners to assist us in making sure that load shedding will not prevent our learners from achieving their best possible results in these exams.

We wish every one of our matric candidates the very best as they count down to the exams: they are on the home stretch, and we know that they have the ability to achieve excellent results this year.

We thank our matric teachers, who are giving their all to ensure that their learners do well in these exams. They are the last caretakers of our children before they leave school, and carry the burden of our learners’ futures with grace and determination.

We cannot wait to see what the Class of 2022 will achieve!

Source: Government of South Africa

Invitation to the launch of A promise without commitment: Overview of state compliance with President’s 40% procurement allocation

On 26 September 2022, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) will do a media launch of its report titled: A Promise without Commitment: Overview of state Compliance with President’s 40% Procurement Allocation. In a virtual address to mark National Women’s Day in 2020, President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa announced government’s plans to expand women’s access to economic opportunities by setting aside 40% of public procurement for women-owned businesses.

The pronouncement generated great interest and enthusiasm, particularly within the gender sector. It is against this backdrop that the CGE conducted the research study to assess the extent to which the President’s promise was turned into reality by state government departments at national and provincial levels through necessary preparations, planning, and allocation of resources towards this goal.

The CGE has reviewed the existing procurement expenditure data at national and provincial government for the 2017/2018 to 2020/2021 financial years to assess the level of compliance with the President’s commitment.

Objectives of the Study were:

•             To examine and assess the extent to which national and provincial government departments comply with and implement the President’s stated 40% target for allocating public procurement resources towards supporting women-owned businesses.

•             To assess and determine if national and provincial government departments have set alternative and clearly stated targets for allocating procurement resources to comply with the 40% procurement target for allocating public procurement resources toward women-owned businesses.

Government Departments that were selected for this study:

•             Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

•             Civil Secretariat for Police Services

•             Correctional Services

•             Employment and Labour

•             Government Communication and Information System

•             Home Affairs

•             International Relations and Cooperation

•             Mineral Resources

•             Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

•             Public Services and Administration

•             Science and Technology

•             South African Police Service

•             Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation

•             Communications and Digital Technologies

•             Traditional Affairs

This launch will therefore communicate the findings and the recommendations of the study.

Source: Government of South Africa

National Treasury Communications Unit invites journalists who would like to attend the 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) lock-ups to participate in a virtual pre-MTBPS consultative meeting.

The meeting aims to discuss MTBPS lock-up logistics.

Source: Government of South Africa