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The Secretary General of the Black Business Council, Mr Xolani Qubeka has hailed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) and the South Africa Airways (SAA) which took place yesterday and described it as a “bold and decisive move.”  The MoU, which was signed by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina and the Chairperson of the SAA Board, Ms Dudu Myeni was on the procurement opportunities that will be made available for Black Industrialists at SAA.

“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. We are therefore looking forward to collaborating with the SAA and the dti to ensure that our members and all of the Black business community can access these opportunities,” said Qubeka.

He added that the announcement that Black companies should access in excess of 50% of the R20 billion spent by SAA on procuring goods in the next three years was music to the ears of Black businesspeople.

“The most important thing now is for our Black companies to be ready and make sure that they are competent and are able to respond appropriately to these opportunities. It is also important that companies, particularly those that are in the manufacturing sector, need to fully understand the type of market that 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. But also more importantly, supplying SAA will enable our companies to open more doors and opportunities. Market access can also extend to other airlines,” said Qubeka.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister 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.  We are committing ourselves to working with the SAA and other stakeholders, including business, to make sure that of the R20 billion that SAA is spending on procuring goods and services at least R10 billion should go to Black business,” said Masina

He added that the dti would be assisting Black entrepreneurs through its Black Industrialists Programme to capacitate them so that they could take full advantage of the opportunities at the SAA. The department, he said 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.

Issued by The Department of Trade and Industry