This morning was the occasion of the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Eastern Cape Local Government and Traditional Affairs, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and the South African Breweries. These three have formed a partnership committed to combine their knowledge and best practice skills to support and strengthen the local municipality with a specific focus on water.
The partnership will be for a period of three years and begins officially in January 2013.
One wonders if we would be able to attract SAB’s turnaround agent, Norman Adami, who was General Manager of South African Breweries Eastern Cape/Border region from 1985 to 1987 and the Transkei region from 1984 to 1985, to spend some time in the Metro showing our administrative staff how to cut costs whilst improving revenue as he has done in the past three years at SAB?
Representing SAB at the signing of the MOU was Dr Vincent Maphai, their Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Transformation who inspired all with his simple and direct words.
Dr Maphai is a product of the University of the Western Cape and revealed that he was on a journey to Sasolburgh to meet the one person that was instrumental in him passing Matric. This person had paid for him to attend school and, he said; “If it were not for him, I would have become a street child!” For 42 years his benefactor had refused to meet with Dr Maphai saying that he paid for his education in order to benefit the country. A true South African if ever there was one.
On leadership he said; “Leadership is a simple concept that requires mapping the direction in which we are headed”. Turning to the lack of leadership that our country is experiencing he had the following to say;”From 1948 to 1990 South Africans experienced great leadership from the liberation struggle as we had; Clarity of Purpose – everyone from the top down knew what the goal was. All community structures were involved in this goal – from Street Committes to the Black Sash and the End Conscription Campaign. And when we negotiated a constitution we negotiated on a win-win basis.”
“Then, in 1994, civil society went on retirement and asked government for a house;” he remarked.
As to why SAB have got involved Maphai said that South Africa could be compared to a boat with one side occupied by business and the other by government and, if the government side started leaking, it was not enough to point out the leak and expect government to fix it – rather it was incumbent on business to help fix the leak as if the boat sank everyone would go down with it.
His closing remark was; “For SAB, South Africa is not a market, it is home!”
Alan Straton
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