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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

CAPE TOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS GET KUDOS FOR BUYING LOCAL DECISION



CAPE TOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS GET KUDOS FOR BUYING LOCAL DECISION
 BY BVUNZAMUTUPO SADC VOICE
ESPAfrika, the company behind the Cape Town Jazz Festival, has been warmly applauded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) Director-General Lionel October for its decision to commission local suppliers to manufacture its clothing giveaways for the 2014 chapter of the nationally (and internationally) renowned festival.

October says he is pleased that Rashid Lombard and Billy Domingo, and their team have taken this step.

“This tells us that the message we’ve been conveying all around the country- for businesses to support local suppliers - is bearing fruit. I hope that increasing numbers of South African companies will follow ESPAfrika’s example,’’ October said.

The Strategic Projects Coordinator for ESPAfrika, Wayne van der Rheede, said the decision to buy local followed talks with the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU).

“We have agreed to support local suppliers via SACTWU’s platform. In terms of this agreement, we will be buying branded items such as caps and soft-collar T-shirts from Western Cape factories.  The total value of this will be about R250, 000. There is a possibility that we will also be looking at purchasing shirts for the occasion, in which case the value of the transaction could then rise to in excess of R400,000 ,” ’ stated Van der Rheede.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says the department has invested close to R1-billion of incentives over the past year to raise competitiveness and to curb job losses in the Clothing, Textiles, and Leather and Footwear sectors.

“Having stabilized the industry, we have been pushing for the next big development to revolve around companies and organisations coming in and buying local. As such, we are pleased that ESPAfrika has joined retailers such as Truworths and Edgars in supporting local procurement. Hopefully, this trend will continue to grow,” said Minister Davies

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