The importance of the Proudly South African campaign is undisputed, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said about the troubled organisation on Monday.
Last month the Proudly South African campaign denied media reports that the DTI had withdrawn its support.
On Monday the DTI and the campaign issued a joint statement in which the deputy director general of Trade and Investment South Africa, Iqbal Meer-Sharma, said the campaign was more relevant than ever.
”Its rationale and importance has never been in dispute,” he said.
Meer-Sharma said the medium- to long-term viability of the campaign would be assured by allowing both Proudly South Africa and the DTI to take board-level control of the campaign.
Proudly South Africa chief executive Manana Moroka welcomed the DTI’s positive response.
”This will ensure the campaign can fulfil its mandate to protect and create jobs through the promotion of locally produced goods and services,” she said.
The DTI and Proudly South Africa have agreed to meet at least four times a year to ”promote mutual accountability and to ensure that the partnership is optimised in the interest of all stakeholders”.
Last month the campaign issued a press statement dismissing media reports that it had been ”disowned” by the DTI.
It said support had not been suddenly cut off, as implied by some media headlines. Instead it said the seed funding provided for the campaign’s founding period was suspended in 2004.
”The government is one of the four key stakeholder groups/partners of Proudly South African — the others being organised labour, organised business and community organisations.”
Proudly South Africa said it asked in 2006 to update the government on the campaign’s future strategy, and to rekindle its relationship with the government as a stakeholder.
Its briefing to the parliamentary trade and industry portfolio committee last month was based on this request.
The briefing had been well received by the committee, which asked that it become a regular occurrence, as Proudly South Africa was needed in the country.
It said all political parties concurred with the proposal that Proudly South Africa should assist in checking the validity of claims of local manufacture and content on good for sale. — Sapa