Chairman’s Speech for Annual National Productivity Awards 19 October

Productivity SA Chairman, Prof Mthunzi Mdwaba’s, Speech at the occasion of the annual National Productivity Awards on 21 October 2022 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand

The Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Honourable Boitumelo Moloi,

The Vice President of the IOE and Vice Chairperson of the ILO, Ms. Renate Hornung-Draus,

Ambassadors present,

Representatives of the ILO,

Our sponsors, SASOL, ARENA Holdings and Transnet,

Representatives of Organised Labour and Union Federations,

Representatives of Business and Members of the Business Community,

Representatives of Government and State-Owned Entities,

My fellow Productivity SA Board members,

The CEO, Executive Management and Productivity SA staff,

All DEL colleagues,

The Commissioner of the UIF and members of the UIF team,

Members of the media,

All stakeholders , Ladies and gentlemen who are here with us physically and those who are joining us virtually, Dumelang, Molweni, Good Evening.

I welcome you all to the 43rd edition of the Annual National Productivity Awards. The energy and the mood tonight is super special because most of us have missed this kind of vibe. We have not had a live gathering or ceremony of this nature since 2019 due to covid-19. I hope you all missed this occasion as much as we did at Productivity SA. It is also at a time when we as Productivity SA are feeling buoyant about the possibilities for tackling unemployment and poverty as you shall hear later in my welcome notes.

Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Honourable Boitumelo Moloi your presence at this Awards ceremony is a profound manifestation of the commitment and priority that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) is placing on Productivity SA’s role inpromoting employment growth, job retention, productivity and competitiveness. We are truly
humbled by your attendance.

The Annual National Productivity Awards are a special way of recognising resilience, celebrating success, acknowledging extraordinary commitment, inspiring greatness and most importantly rewarding hard work. Tonight, we shine a spotlight on enterprises that have succeeded against all odds during the challenging period of Covid-19. To the finalists, I remind and reassure you all that we are proud of you! The fact that you have been nominated means that you are winners already, the award will be a bonus. You should all be proud of yourselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, Productivity SA has been in existence for 53 years this year. Furthermore, the Annual National Productivity Awards are in their 43rd year. It goes without saying that these are indeed two significant milestones to be proud of. I must also add that this is amongst one of my most treasured occasions in the Productivity SA calendar. It provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the preceding year, and share the achievements and success of the enterprises we have assisted through our Enterprise Development and Support Programmes as well as communicate some of our plans.

The rationale behind the Productivity Awards is to:

• recognise best practice companies and showcase the strides that they have made in improving productivity and developing a community of productivity champions.
• galvanise companies into adopting productivity, which has always been recognised as a fundamental element for competitiveness and growth.
• instill a productivity culture and attitude in all that we do as a country and society.
• motivate other enterprises to use our services in order to build sustainable businesses

We are proud that between 2014 and 2019, 335 companies participated in the Annual National Productivity Awards. Greek Philosopher, Aristotle says: “We are what we repeatedly
do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Tonight’s awards form part of a larger productivity promotion campaign.

The month of October marks Productivity Month in South Africa. Productivity Month was first launched over almost two decades ago by Productivity SA and the DEL. The aim of Productivity Month is to elevate the importance of productivity and inculcate a culture of competitiveness in every South African and demonstrate the positive changes that can be brought about through productivity improvement. During Productivity month, the significance of productivity as a driver of competitiveness and a fundamental bedrock for sustainable
growth and job creation is brought to the fore through a series of campaigns, workshops,
seminars, and the Productivity Awards.

Among the significant events taking place this month and as a close-off to Productivity month, we will be launching the 2022 Productivity Statistics Report, which is another significant project for Productivity SA. The Productivity Statistics Report is an annual statistical publication of productivity trends, which is used as a reference document for everyone interested in the economic sector and industry productivity trends. The detailed productivity measurement report highlights the overall impact of productivity changes on the sustainability and competitiveness of companies within all the economic sectors of South Africa. The 2022 Productivity Statistics report will be released next week Friday, the 28th of October 2022 at a virtual event. We look forward to having you at that event.

Ladies and gentlemen, an important lesson to be learnt from the highly competitive countries (top 10 as reflected in the IMD and WEF Reports) is that, improving national productivity and innovation levels is the most efficient way to realise inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Some of you will be aware that the Global Competitive Index compiled by the IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland partners with us in South Africa.

These countries have very stable and enduring productivity growth and competitiveness models that leverage the long-term advantages of technology, education, and advanced infrastructure. They also show strong performance in the overall productivity of both the government and the private sector. This is evidenced in their strong economic fundamentals and their institutional and policy environments which promote growth and labour-market efficiency and an enabling infrastructure, with strong support from the education and training sectors. These factors, in turn, help to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and business sophistication, and reduce the cost of doing business – all of which South Africa should be emulating.

A productivity-driven growth and development agenda must be actively pursued if the demands of the future economy are to be met at sectoral level, and these must be complemented by stronger collaboration between government, business, labour, and academia. Throughout this process, greater awareness and understanding of the
importance and benefits of productivity and competitiveness need to be promoted, and there should also be effective guidance on how to measure and track productivity and
competitiveness.

Productivity is everyone’s business and as the people of South Africa, we need to work together to chart a path of transformation, economic growth, and sustainable development. We need all hands on deck! If all stakeholders come together in the quest to promote productivity, constraints to productivity will easily be identified and eliminated.

It is therefore important that the critical and strategic role of Productivity SA in the economy, which is to lead a productivity driven growth and development agenda, including promoting
and integrating the productivity and competitiveness mind-set and culture in everything we do as a nation should be understood and driven by the country. It is worth reiterating so that if nothing else, the takeaway from tonight should be that “Productivity is always doing what I do today better than I did yesterday, and even better tomorrow.” Who does not want that?

We have come a long way and sometimes the journeys we embark on and the thorns we get on the bottom of our feet all prepare us for the roles we must play in societal building ultimately, like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and as the late Mshengu would say, “have diamonds on the soles of our feet!” My friend and successor in the IOE and ILO who will be our guest speaker later, Ms Renate Hornung-Draus(shared by my daughter, Nina who is an Art Psychotherapist in London) talked of cognitive dissonance while we were battling big
battles in the ILO, and this stayed with me – there were many occasions that chairing Productivity SA felt like this, in that the very people who asked me to chair simply did not understand and appreciate the role of Productivity SA as a creation of the Employment Services Act. On numerous occasions, I came close to throwing the towel and walking away.

Somehow, I continued to believe and had faith that things would change for the better. Sometimes, a combination of evolution mixed with a good dose of revolutionary means can bear fruit in one’s lifetime. So, I enjoin us to always believe as long as we assist the belief with an unending and relentless work ethic, passion for what we believe in, advocacy, intense lobbying, focus and discipline!! In sport, life is symbolised more by endurance than sprints, and more by team effort, than individual excellence, but all of it, is important.

During the momentous occasion of our AGM last month, which I must add, was well attended and over-subscribed, I shared my elation because the Department of Employment and Labour and the country as a whole has finally heard us and declared its intention to reconfigure, reposition and refocus the Department to deliver on the employment mandate, which includes coordination of all government efforts to create jobs and reduce unemployment. The Department confirmed its commitment to transfer some existing
employment related functions such as the Labour Action Programme (LAP), with 9 provincial offices and 126 labour centres throughout the country, Temporary Employer- Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) and Turnaround Strategies to Productivity SA and capacitating the entity with human and financial resources to give effect to these key functions.

The rationale behind this decision is that:

• Productivity SA’s mandate is to promote employment growth, which is strategically positioned, with capability as a labour market institution to implement the employment related functions.
• The UIF will be freed to solely focus on alleviation of poverty through provision of shortterm unemployment insurance to all workers who qualify for unemployment related benefits.
• Productivity SA’s ability to promote and address productivity holistically across all sectors and levels – national (macro), sector (meso), and enterprise (micro) to contribute towards South Africa’s socio-economic development and competitiveness will be enhanced.
• In addition, having these programmes under one roof should reduce bureaucracy and thereby ensure quicker turnaround times for the beneficiaries.
• Finally, this transfer will bring us closer to the goal of a single source funding mechanism for Productivity SA which will ensure that the expanded mandate is adequately resourced.

Friends and colleagues, finally we have a shift and sometimes shifts are like water…”Lao Tzu says “Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, nothing can resist it.” Bruce Lee the martial artist and philosopher puts it differently, when he says, “EMPTY YOUR MIND, BE FORMLESS, SHAPELESS – LIKE WATER. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.”

This has been the way of Productivity SA the last few years. Like water, we are going where we need to go.A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but it’s persistence. We believe that this positive move by the Department will go a long way in not only dealing with the financial/resource challenges facing Productivity SA and limiting its efficacy in delivering on its mandate, but will occasion huge impact that our people and our country needs. Productivity SA, as the champion for productivity and consequent competitiveness, is taking its rightful place in our war against unemployment and poverty.

The partnerships we have been able to forge in the last few years, together with the strengthening of relationships bears testimony to this.

All of you in this room represent a coming of age. 70% of the people in this room had never had of Productivity SA till about 2 years ago. 50% of you have never been to a Productivity Awards ceremony. This is Kaizen in motion and as I always like to say, “change happens one step at a time, one brick at a time and one person at a time!!”

Ladies and gentlemen, we must turn the tide and we can, but we must change our bad habits, we must change our attitudes, we must be prepared to acquire the skill of un-learning everything we have learnt as this is part of the problem. One of the most important skills as we move into the future is learning to learn. We live in times where attitudinal change is the biggest opportunity for progress and impact. Thanks to the COVID 19 for also forcing us to recalibrate and re-discover our “Ubuntu”, our humanity and collaborative spirit and urgency.

We must also learn to effect change, to be counted as catalysts for change and learn to lead and be leaders, not just people in authority. Being in authority does not make you a leader! Surrounding ourselves with sycophants or lackeys makes us weak and unproductive! And yesterday’s points and struggle victories are but that, they cannot sustain us. It is all about what you do today (better than yesterday) and tomorrow (better than today) that will make you a productive contributor and a leader with impact. Social justice shall then be realised!

It is for this reason that for this year we adopted a theme “Adapting and Growing stronger together”, which underscores the need for adapting to new ways of doing business and leveraging on collaboration and partnership for growth.

I would like to take this opportunity to convey some thank you:- A special thank you message to SASOL for coming together with productivity SA in investing in entrepreneurs and sponsoring this event. Thank Arena Holdings and Transnet for their partnership in ensuring that we are able to pull this off and celebrate the awardees for this year as well.

A big thank you to the Deputy Minister for having always believed in us and being there and unwavering whenever she has been passed the baton by the Minister to attend to our events and choosing us, together with all our allies in the Department under the leadership of the DG, Mr Thobile Lamati.

Let me thank the UIF Commissioner, Mr Teboho Maruping, whose life we have often turned upside down for programmatic monies that were hugely needed. Thank you for your patience and coming to the party. We have had numerous opportunities to present to a few Parliamentary Portfolio Committees during my term as the Chair, and while the relationship was an evolving one, the actual transition happened with the current one under the able leadership of Cde Lindelwa Dunjwa who broke with the tradition of pretending so as to look cool and smart by stating openly that she did not understand what Productivity SA was about – this was the beginning of progress and it also got us to follow in Leornado da Vinci’s footsteps when he said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” as we had also been looking at also simplifying our messaging. Robin Sharma also says “The secret to
productivity is simplicity.” Once she and the Committee understood, they fell in love with us in a big way!! We have now moved from being seen as the spoilt brats amongst our DEL
siblings, to emerging darlings. She and her Committee could not be here and she asked that I convey her apology as they are busy with Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) processes.

As I close, I express my heartiest gratitude to my fellow Board members, namely our Deputy Chair, Dr Anneline Chetty, Mr Welile Nolingo, Ms Shivani Singh, Ms Marsha Bronkhorst, Ms Bev Jack and Mr Godfrey Selematsela.

I also take this opportunity to thank the CEO, Mr. Mothunye Mothiba, his Executive and all Productivity SA staff members for their hard work and collective efforts towards the support and development of SMMEs, even during the hard times of COVID 19, which taught us that “what you learn in tough times can be used in many ways to bless your personal life journey”. As American Philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Let the Productivity movement grow from strength to strength.

Do not forget to communicate with us via Linked in and Twitter

#nationalproductivityawards #productivitymonth #October @productivitysa… I challenge all of you tonight to join me and make your presence felt on @Tzoro1 as I tweet crazily to ensure that we all add our voices to the productivity movement/revolution. Do recall that we still have another 9 days of the Productivity month left – make it count!! We are also streaming the awards on our Facebook page. Today marks the evening when your lives will change forever as Productivity Ambassadors – have a great time and thank you for choosing to join us.

The video that follows gives you a brief overview of the Productivity Awards. Enjoy it.