Page 13 - KZN Business Sense 5.2

RIGHT-SIZING LEADING TO PROFITABILITY

Vijay Naidoo, President, Multitasking other areas of the business have R9,5-bn to R29,5-bn, all in the (shrinking) membership and
South Coast Chamber This is also particularly striking certainly benefitted. face of declining revenues and towards the country as a whole.
of Commerce and in America, where multitasking non-payment by consumers. The task at hand is a frightening
industry The travails we are facing and challenging one: the need
is a given for any job. Now with Eskom’s rolling blackouts The impact on this is
contrast this with the resistance (one has to tip one’s hat at the constrained resources to conduct to put aside platitudes and old
he to multitasking in our country PR person who created the essential maintenance, purchase rhetoric has never been more
urgent. If we don’t confront this,
scourge – the South African Social word load- shedding) can be coal and other vital inputs. we will forever be doomed to an
Tof Security Agency for example attributed to one simple fact – it underperforming country on a
unemployment refused to take biometric data is spending much more than it is Economic Benefits steady downward spiral. 
blighting our from pensioners without being receiving. So, the reality is that there will
country will compensated. be a lot more pain over the next
not be fixed There is a myth that ‘right- One of the key components few years while we right-size our T: 083 700 5427
by short-term sizing’ an operation by cutting of this over expenditure is staff economy. Allowing enterprises, E: president@sccci.org.za
thinking and staff is merely done to enhance costs. General consensus is both private and state, to W: www.sccci.org.za
actions. A long-term solution the bottom line, a view actively that Eskom is 30 - 35 percent reconfigure their workforces
requires a fundamental promoted by organised labour. overstaffed, a fact exacerbated by will in the long term free up
realignment of our economy In fact, optimising labour while statistics that reveal Eskom pays significant resources to the
and absolute honesty from all cutting costs generally improves the highest average salaries in benefit of the wider economy.
stakeholders. No amount of operating efficiencies. the country. In figures, Eskom’s
BEE land distribution or radical staff count increased by 16 000 Unions will need to adjust
economic transformation is Further, increased profitability between 2007 and 2018, with their thinking to beyond their
going to change the status quo. tends to drive increased associated costs increasing from
investment which tends to spur
In my recent travels to India, increased employment, albeit
I was struck by the fact that in different parts of the entity.
even in the face of a population Telkom is a case in point. By
20 times larger than ours, cutting its workforce by over 15

.00
most businesses, both private 000 over the last 10 years it has R 67 FOR MANDELA
and public, operate with the increased its profitability, share
optimum levels of staff. value and dividends to the State
exponentially.
At airports for example, DAY BURSARIES
the cleaning crews, check in Wide Impact
staff, and baggage handlers
are perfectly balanced to the Many of the retrenched
needs of the operations, with no employees have gone on to
impact on the service delivery start their own businesses in
or output. Facilities are clean the same or other sectors with Achievements
and well maintained, boarding great success. While many • Awarded 10 partial bursaries
and check in procedures are no would dispute that Telkom has • Received 565 donations
worse than anywhere else. become more efficient given its rd th
generally poor customer service • Trending 3 on Twitter on 18 July 2018
• Winner: MACE Excellence Awards 2018.

2019 Campaign
R67 FOR MANDELA 2 launches 1 June 2019

CAMPAIGN • Aim to raise R1million
• Supported by the Nelson
Mandela Foundation and
Durban Chamber of Commerce
niversities across South Foundation, Professor • Broadcast on three radio
Africa are generating Anesh Maniraj Singh, the stations and covered in
Uthird stream income campaign is called 67 Rands print media
through commercial initiatives, for Mandela and invites each
research and fundraising to person to donate R67.
support their operations and “Education is the most powerfuldu
“
“E
student funding. The University “Nelson Mandela fought weapon which you can use
weap
of KwaZulu-Natal Foundation for social justice for 67 years. to cha
to change the world”
- Nelson Mandela
is proactively seeking donations In honour of the late Nelson - Nelson
from the donor community to Mandela, the UKZN Foundation
“give the gift of knowledge” is appealing to the public to
by supporting the university donate as little as R67 to support
bursary system. Donors may one of the most powerful forms
contribute directly to the general of social justice – education.”
bursary fund, or they can Their appeal to you is to give
establish named bursary funds generously. If you can, please
through the Foundation. donate R67 monthly, if you
The UKZN Foundation have cannot afford to donate monthly,
introduced a novel approach to a once-off donation would be DURBAN CHAMBER
raising funds for bursaries where equally appreciated.  SUPPORTED BY OF COMMERCE AND
INDUSTRY NPC
everyone can participate. EST 1856
T: +27 31 260 2389
According to executive
director of the UKZN E: foundation@ukzn.ac.za
W: www.foundation.ukzn.ac.za

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