<<<  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.