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The unification of the
Nelspruit and District Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, Sakekamer and Lowveld Info
signals a new beginning for working together
as unified business and tourism in the
region. It is also the first break with our
'shackles' of the past in moving away from
culturally based organisations.
Considerable planning was
undertaken during 2001 amongst the
representatives of the three business
associations (Chamber of Commerce, Sakekamer
and NAFCOC) together with Lowveld Info to
plan and design a unified business and
tourism agency and association that could
broaden its membership and promote the
interests of its members and the region as a
whole. A Steering Committee comprising of
representatives of the organisations, was
guided by the framework document, during the
planning stage in formulating the business
plan and constitution, resulting in the
merge and final documents being approved by
the Chamber, Sakekamer and Lowveld Info in
November 2001.
NAFCOC have chosen to
temporarily suspend their participation in
the unification process due to ongoing
problems with the unification of SACOB and
NAFCOC into SAFCOC at a national level.
Until these issues have been resolved, the
local branch of NAFCOC have opted to stay
independent from the unification due to the
prevailing uncertainty. The new organisation
has however been structured to include the
NAFCOC representatives during the
transitionally period which runs for 12
months from inception in January 2002 and in
this regard the various parties will be
working with NAFCOC to bring them onboard.
The new organisation consists
of two operational divisions, namely,
Lowveld Business and Lowveld Tourism, who
will be supported with administration,
financial, marketing and promotion
functions/services. The management of these
divisions will be the responsibility of the
two management committees. Representatives
from these committees will make up the
Executive Committee, which will serve as the
Board of Directors.
The role and responsibilities
of Lowveld Business has been reassessed and
although we will still organise events such
as golf days, member's luncheons, annual
awards function, etc., our prime focus area
will be projects. Projects are defined as
seminars and training courses, which will be
organised to address the needs of members
and business people of the Lowveld area.
This will be achieved through
a set of strategic objectives, which will be
implemented by the Management Committees and
Executive Managers of both divisions.
The main benefit of
unification of the business associations is
to speak with one voice and work together
for the common good of the business sector
and the region. The merits of combining
Lowveld Info with the business associations
are to exploit the natural synergies that
exist, obtain critical mass and offer the
members a wider range of services.
The vision of the
organisation is:
The Lowveld Chamber of
Business and Tourism (LCBT) will strive to
become a unified, relevant and
representative business entity for the
Southern Lowveld region that will seek to
identify, develop and promote economic and
tourism opportunities in the region and
develop strong relationships in the
business, political and labour environments
locally, regionally and nationally.
Structure and Staff
To achieve the objectives it
would be necessary to allow for the
appropriate structure and staffing. The
Business and Tourism divisions are currently
accommodated in the same offices located at
Nelspruit Crossing centre. The location of
these offices is important in that the
Tourism and Business activities demand
visibility and easy access for the many
visitors, tourists and residents of the
region seeking information.
The Nelspruit office is the
head office for the Lowveld Chamber of
Business and Tourism. Satellite information
offices are also operated and are located in
places with a natural high visitor rate.
These include sites such as Canal Walk in
Cape Town, Sabie Info Kiosk and Casterbridge
centre outside White river.
The staff consists of the one
manager for the Tourism Division, a
Management committee and their support staff.
The Business Division consists of a
Management committee and their support
staff. It is
important to attract and keep people of the
right calibre in these positions to ensure
the effective and efficient operation of the
organisation. The Tourism Manager is Ms.
Kholeka Msane |
