Current Edition >> Archive Section >> Special Features >> June 2008
In its quest to fulfil its mandate as the primary governmental institution to foster and develop the small, medium and micro business sector in SA, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) on national level designed and developed the ingenious Shintsha Programme. This has been done with a view to implementation in five provinces namely Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape. In the Free State, the Provincial Office of seda rolled out the Shintsha Programme in collaboration with the Motheo FET College. As such the project was a first for the Free State in terms of the direct training and capacitating of a single class of 20 emerging entrepreneurs to become job providers instead of job seekers. Training was conducted at Motheo FET College from August 2007 to March 2008, i.e. over an eight months' period. The primary objective of the project is to equip learners from different business sectors with enterprise skills and provide them with business support as they develop their own small businesses. The guidelines for the selection of the emerging entrepreneurs were primarily black, 50% female, under the age of 35, unemployed or self-employed minimum qualification – grade 12 and having a viable business idea. As to the presentation of the business development curriculum, theory was done for three days per week - initially more intense and later reduced as the learner's business knowledge grew. A business centre was established at Motheo FET College where facilities such as telephone, fax, Internet, photocopy machine, computer and printer were available. Free days were used for business operation and business support. After four months of intense training, learners were placed in well-established businesses that are similar to the ones they intend to start. Additional training was provided in the form of team building and business plan presentation. The Mangaung Branch of Seda Free State in the Bloem Plaza acted on behalf of Seda, providing business support services, assisting with the formation of business teams, providing access to markets and customers, funding and access to additional training and hand holding. On its part, the role of Motheo FET College was concerned with learner recruitment, learner induction and preparation, delivery schedule, new venture creation unit standards, additional courses, provision of training venue and creation of a business centre. The presentation of the curriculum was also highly practically orientated with ample opportunity for the learners to run their businesses in the real world, monitoring their progress and the way they cope. Focused groups were also formed among learners for support and the sharing of ideas. This was facilitated to a great extent by Moipone Mohono, business advisor of Seda Mangaung. In the end, 15 of the 20 learners prevailed and participating with verve and enthusiasm in the project, they merged into a team with dedicated esprit de corps. The graduation ceremony for the 15 successful graduates was held with an illustrious event on 6 May 2008 at Seda Mangaung, attended by dignitaries from Seda Free State and Motheo FET College, as well as by parents, relatives, friends and the media. Officiating as the event, the Provincial Manager of Seda Free State Jackie Ntshingila, inter alia quoted Jean Houston: “We all have the extraordinary coded within us…waiting to be released.” On his part, the Senior Manager: Learnerships, Motheo FET, Brian Madalane, told the graduates that this is only the beginning of a journey, reminding them that they are not alone, but “have God Almighty behind you.” The Branch Manager of Seda Mangaung, Dan Moloi, urged the graduates: “Don't let anything stand in your way – failure is not an option.” The main achievement of the entire exercise was the capacitating of 15 emerging entrepreneurs to become job providers instead of job seekers – as such a small but significant step towards a turnaround of the unemployment problem in the Free State.
The new Voorspoed Diamond Mine of the De Beers Consolidated Mines near Kroonstad is purposefully pursuing a policy of synergising with its employees in order to achieve maximum results in terms of diamond production, zero accident rate and optimised benefits for employees and the local communities they derive from. For this R1,3 billion project – currently the only mega project in the Free State by national comparison – it is all about an empowered, happy and motivated workplace.
The Operations Manager of Voorspoed Diamond Mine, Andy Taylor told Johann Dannhauser of the Free State Business Bulletin on visit to the mine site, that the policy of the mine is to employ as far as feasible only residents from the surrounding region, to train them in various operational capacities as well as possible and to motivate them through creating a working environment to be truly proud of.
Interviewing a couple of Voorspoed Mine employees selected at random proves the point.
Answering basically the same questions, the case studies as below emerged.
Not only about tons and carats
Although the development of the Voorspoed Diamond Mine about 30 km from Kroonstad on the Viljoenskroon road is some six months ahead of schedule, with the official opening of the mine through forward to November 2008, “it is not only about tons and carats”, explains Operations Manager Andy Taylor.
They emphatically point out that the fullest possible development of the human resource potential at the mine is as crucial to success as any physical output, while the mine also measures its success in terms of the difference it is making in the socio-economic status within the Fezile Dabi region.
According to Taylor and Kasumba its the intention to keep the public informed about the roll-out of the mining project in time to come.
Sam Fokane
Ore extraction: Production operator
Sam was born and raised at Steynsrus, before finding employment at Tautona Gold Mine at Carltonville from 1994 – 2006. He was trained as a professional blaster. Married with three children, he also cares for his mother. In 2006 he was unemployed for three months, but then applied at Voorspoed Mine, where he was assessed and appointed. He is trained as a production operator on the ore extraction side, operating front-end loaders costing some R11,5 million apiece.
Sam says he is proud of his job and sees it as a career leading to a managerial position at the Voorspoed Mine. His first aim is to do his part to produce the first carats at Voorspoed towards beginning of June 2008.
During the week he lives at Kroonstad, but is able to care well for his family residing at Steynsrus.
Oliver Arries
Ore extraction: Production operator
Oliver was born at Oudtshoorn, where he also went to school, before his parents moved to Welkom. He studied for two years human resources management at CUT, Welkom, before finding a job at Truworths, Welkom, as a till operator. However, having a passion to work outdoors in an operational capacity, he applied successfully at Voorspoed Mine, where he was trained as an ore extraction production operator.
Oliver, only 23, says he likes to work with the big machines – “it is challenging to see what you can do with a small lever”, he remarks.
Still unmarried and staying at Kroonstad, Oliver says he would like to assist the mine in achieving its full production cycle over 12 – 16 years, operating in the process with zero fatalities.
Sellwane Lipheko
Ore processing operator
Sellwane is a trained ore processing operator at Voorspoed Mine – a woman in a traditional male job and as such an example of the mine achieving a rate of 20% women employment, against the mining charter's requirements of 10% and the industry average of 4%.
Sellwane was born at Bothaville and moved to Viljoenskroon with marriage, where her husband (employed) and child still live. She obtained a 3-year diploma in purchasing management at the Klerksdorp campus of the Vaal University of Technology, but having been unable to secure any suitable employment, she worked as a domestic worker.
Then came the Voorspoed Mine option, where she applied and was successfully assessed, trained and placed. She says she likes to be employed in operational mining as a traditional men's stronghold. “It is about skill and not strength”, she explains. She works well with male partners as a team, she observes and continues: “In the process of diamond production, I see myself as an eye for Voorspoed to extract the diamonds from the ore.”
Eddie Olivier
Ore processing operator (paramedic)
Born in Potgietersrus (now Mokopane), he had to move to Pietersburg (Polokwane) and then Messina (Musina) where his father found employment. His own first employment was with the Fire Brigade at Musina, where he qualified as a fireman, paramedic and rescue officer.
Eddie then got an appointment at Venetia Diamond Mine at Musina, also owned by De Beers. In 2008 he was transferred to Voorspoed Mine and applied in a position combining ore processing and paramedic service. He resides in Kroonstad with his wife and two children. He says he enjoys “the De Beers family” and is well cared for.
On his part he wishes to contribute to creating a safe working environment and to assist in pro-actively saving lives. He is also able to observe how Voorspoed is visibly making a difference in the surrounding community life.
New corporate ID for FSTA launched
The occasion of the Free State exhibition at the Tourism Indaba in Durban from 10 – 14 May 2008, as co-ordinated by the Free State Tourism Authority (FSTA), was utilized to launch the new corporate identity of the FSTA. Having been in operation now for two ground-breaking years and having gained valuable experience about both national and international marketing requirements, it became clear that the FSTA is in need of a much more cutting edge, modern and market-compliant logo and related corporate identity.
Therefore after a due process of research, design and contemplation, the new logo as depicted to the left on this page, was selected, adopted and launched.
The launching event at Indaba 2008 took place in the presence of a host of national and international guests, dignitaries, tour operators and media. Judging from the response received, the new corporate identity proved to be an instant hit.
The CEO of the FSTA, Phomolo Mokuela, says it is trusted that the new logo and identity would stand the tourism industry in the Free State in good stead and that all Free Staters will take ownership of this identity.
FSTA published first detailed Free State Travel Guide
As a major step to make as much practical detail about the Free State available to any prospective tourist, the FSTA has compiled and published the 2008 Free State Travel Guide.
It is a 116 page booklet containing inter alia the following:
A list of 52 Tourism and Information Offices in the Free State, with telephone numbers.
A list of some 325 items of interest in the Free State classified according to different towns and the five districts.
Maps of the five districts and of the Maloti Drakensberg Route.
A comprehensive list of some 775 Accommodation establishments with addresses, contact detail and grading in the Free State, classified according to towns and districts.
A handy subject index at the back.
Ample original full colour photos.
The information in the booklet is furthermore categorised and indicated by colours for the respective five districts, viz. green for Fezile Dabi, orange for Thabo Mofutsanyana, red for Motheo, blue for Xhariep and gold for Lejweleputswa.
The FSTA is requesting that all accommodation establishments in the province not yet listed in the 2008 Free State Travel Guide, do so by contacting Nomvula at the FSTA in Bloemfontein at (051) 411 4300 or (051) 411 4318 or email: nomvula@fsta.co.za , to provide their particulars. Listing in the Guide is free of charge.
It is intended to update and publish the upgraded Guide shortly.
For the present edition of the Guide, distributed at key tourist information points in the province and countrywide and even abroad, 5 000 copies have been printed. Copies are still available at the offices of the FSTA at 139 Nelson Mandela Drive, MTN Building, Bloemfontein, for stakeholders and interested persons.
It is also planned to extend this Guide in due course to include listing of other types of tourism / product owners, such as restaurants, coffee shops, travel and tour operators, game farms, etc.
CEO's Notepad
Wow! That's the best way to describe the FSTA's experience at the past Tourist Indaba 2008 at Durban.
The arrangements concerning our Free State exhibition went well and we experienced a greater traffic volume of national as well as international visitors to our exhibition, there was a sharpened interest of especially international tour operators and promoters and our new logo immediately caught on.
In short, I believe, with due respect, that we managed to create a vibe for the Free State that will reverberate with huge returns.
A host of exciting and challenging prospects is in the pipeline. It is now for all stakeholders in the Free State tourism industry to stand together, to synergise and to grab these opportunities! Let's do it! To this end, the FSTA is at your service – do call upon us!
Another critically important facet I would like to highlight, is that the FSTA is returning from Indaba more enlightened than ever before on how to assist our people at grassroots level to generate income from tourism. To this end, the FSTA is bent to inform and empower people in the province through workshops and information sessions on how they can benefit.
In this regard, the onus is, however, not only on the FSTA, but also on established product owners to impart knowledge and skills to emerging entrepreneurs. It is vital that in the final instance, we in a joint effort exploit the potential of the tourism industry to meaningfully counter unemployment and poverty in the Free State.
So let's go for it together!
Backdrop
As became practice the past couple of years, the exhibition for the Free State province at this year's Tourism Indaba in Durban from 10-14 May was again conducted and led by the Free State Tourism Authority (FSTA). In this the latter was ably assisted by the five District Municipalities in the province on behalf of their respective districts, viz. Motheo, Lejweleputswa, Fezile Dabi, Thabo Mofutsanyane and Xhariep.
The FSTA also invited 30 tour operators and other tourism product owners from the province to participate in the exhibition and to market their own products.
Indaba 2008 was attended by more than 13 000 choice delegates in the global tourism industry, with attendance increased across all industry sectors. There was especially good attendance numbers for media delegates at 603, compared to last year's 423 and exhibitors at 7 984 in 2008 versus 7 906 in 2007.
Overall consensus was that this year's Indaba was characterised by a renewed sense of excitement and focus around the industry with confirmation that South Africa is well on target to meet – and exceed – its goal to attract 10 million visitors by 2010.
This year's event, more than any other, has been crucial as regards buying decisions for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Exhibitors across the board reported brisk trade and keen interest in the destination, chiefly due to the reality of the FIFA World Cup being a mere two short years away.
So it was essential for the Free State to participate optimally in Indaba 2008.
Acievements
This year's Free State exhibition at Indaba is, without fear of contradiction on general feedback, rated as probably the most successful ever of its kind. This statement is made from especially international tourism operators and amount of actual business concluded, are taken into cognizance. Together with this should be seen the high quality of the design and presentation of the Free State exhibition, which also included the awareness created by the launching of the new FSTA corporate identity.
• In particular, the following could moreover be listed as achievements:
• The Free State is notably recognized to an increasing extent as a tourist destination in its own right. The theme at the Free State exhibition of “Revive your soul” evidently made its mark and the province was clearly acknowledged as a region offering specific features, or a combination thereof, which other provinces do not have.
• With the numbers showing more international media, more exhibitors and more international operators than ever this year at the Tourism Indaba, the Free State was also able to make more and wider contact than ever before at this event.
• The 30 Free State tourism product owners which participated in the Free State exhibition on invitation from the FSTA, managed to do good business for themselves and definitely got a business boost from the exposure.
• Indaba was, however, not only about marketing and networking, but also about learning – learning at the various workshops that we presented concurrently with the Indaba exhibition part. There were for instance workshops on the opportunities presented by the Tourism Enterprise programme (TEP), on the benefits of Transfrontier Parks, on best practices to empower communities, etc. Members of the FSTA attended many of these workshops.
Challenges
The challenges for the tourism industry in the Free State hence forward could be summarized as follows:
• Increasing the number of visitors / tourists to the province, make them stay longer and get them to spend more money. According to the general manager marketing of the FSTA, Khotso Thole, the Free State currently ranks sixth amongst the nine provinces in terms of receiving most tourists, a figure the FSTA is determined to improve to fourth position. In this regard the aim is that 70% of visitors should come from the other provinces and 30% from Africa and other parts of the world.
• There were Free State tourism product owners exhibiting at Indaba 2008 on their own and not as part of the FSTA exhibition. It is a challenge to get all Free Staters under one roof and to consolidate all efforts into one much stronger effort.
• Since it is tour operators that must sell tourist packages to prospective visitors, it is a challenge to capacitate Free State tour operators better and also to get more trained tour operators into the industry.
• Transformation of the tourism market in the Free State so as to benefit more people through the industry, is a priority challenge. Through transfer of skills from the established sector to the emerging sector, much more entrepreneurial and employment opportunities must be created, translating into significantly better local socio-economic conditions.
• More and better marketing and information material on the tourist offerings of the Free State is urgently required. The newly published 2008 Free State Travel Guide is a major step forward, but it needs to contain much more info about accommodation establishments in the province, while it also needs to be extended to include particulars about suppliers in other tourism sectors as well. The need is for more practical info and not so much more pictures. The FSTA is also in an advanced process of developing its own dynamic website and this is to be launched shortly.
• For the Free State to get the largest possible slice from the expected influx of tourists for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup constitutes of course a major challenge of its own.
A last challenge to be mentioned here, is one of co-operation and synergy between all stakeholders – the Provincial Department concerned, the FSTA, the various municipalities, the private sector and the general public. A plea is being made for better alignment with the aims and mission of the FSTA – to the benefit of all concerned.
I'd like to learn more about other opportunities at the mine and to grow, perhaps one day becoming part of the management structure,” Nomalanga says. “Voorspoed Mine has provided me with a golden opportunity and I am dedicated to ensuring that the mine turns out a huge success.”
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