Dolphin Bay is proud to be a member of the National Business Initiative (NBI), an umbrella body working dedicatedly behind the scenes to help solve South Africa’s seemingly intractable challenges.
The NBI is a voluntary coalition of local and international companies working towards sustainable growth and development. It has worked in spheres from housing delivery to crime prevention, local economic development, building government capacity, education, energy efficiency, and climate change.
“We are extremely encouraged by the NBI’s far-reaching work with other business organisations, government, and civil society, to bring about a country we will all want to live in,” said Bertus.
Recently, the NBI was contracted to procure expertise for, monitor, and report upon the work of the Resource Mobilisation Fund (RMF), which was established following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s request for business to help the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) in its efforts to address loadshedding and secure a sustainable national energy supply.
The RMF was launched in March this year and has already raised R100 million from businesses and philanthropies. The funds will provide technical support and capacity to NECOM and “employ the best minds in the game to end loadshedding,” BusinessTech recently reported. These people include former Eskom employees and industry experts.
“We are extremely encouraged by NBI’s far-reaching work with other business organisations, government and civil society, to bring about a country we will all be proud to live in.”
“It is extremely unfortunate that business needs to step in to fund the huge gaps in expertise within a parastatal such as Eskom. It is Eskom’s responsibility fill this gap,” observed Bertus. “Nevertheless, the fact that business is doing what is necessary – in work that will ultimately benefit us all – is extremely encouraging.”
Another recent NBI project was the thought-leadership event Partnering Against Money-laundering and Corruption in South Africa, which was held in March this year and attended by representatives of the private sector, government, and civil society.
The event saw the launch of an NBI Ethical Leadership and Anti-Corruption Course to address the fast-growing culture of unethical behaviour and corruption within the private and public sectors, and agreement on a call to action.
The call to action noted that business must be “champions against corruption and not enablers or victims of it”.
Dolphin Bay has seen an alarming increase in corruption in the timber treatment industry, which we expect is now evident in other industries, too – not only in South Africa but also in other African countries.
“Corruption is a cancer,” said Bertus. ”If not treated and eradicated, it will eventually kill the host. Dolphin Bay is doing our best not to be associated with corruption and, where we can, to play an active role in preventing corruption or pointing it out.
“When confronted by a corrupt official or businessperson, we’ve often seen that as soon as their deeds or intentions come to light, that they get a fright and jump back into the shadows. Corruption can only exist if we participate.”
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