Team SA kit shame in the spotlight

PROUDLY South Africa has noted the uproar around issues relating to Team SA ’ s Olympic kit and the fact that it was not manufactured locally.

“As the nation ’ s Buy Local Campaign – and in line with our values – we are disappointed that our athletes did not have an opportunity to showcase a locally manufactured kit on the world stage which would reflect and promote national pride, patriotism and show support for local manufacturing,” Proudly SA ’ s chief executive officer of marketing and communications Happy Ngidi said.

“We believe that we could have helped the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) in securing support from local businesses to sponsor a locally made Olympic kit. Unfortunately, we were not approached. ”

As part of its activities to support government ’ s efforts in promoting local procurement with a view to creating jobs, Proudly SA intends to call a public indaba to address the issue. “We will invite relevant stakeholders, including the sports ministry, Sascoc and local manufacturers in an effort to put our heads together, as a collective, to address local procurement issues,” she said.

Proudly SA is of the view that SA enjoys many talented local fashion designers, while having the ability to manufacture clothing that can be showcased on a global stage.

“We are hopeful that these entities will support our efforts to bring relevant role players together,” Ngidi said.

“This is a golden opportunity for us to work together to address this issue. ”