Award for ‘mere servant’
DEVLYN Naidoo, the executive for Sars and other government agencies at the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), has won an International Customs Day award from the World Customs Organization.
In the process, he has become the first and the youngest Indian South African from the private sector to win the award since 1953.
Naidoo, who recently moved from Chatsworth in Durban to Edenvale in Johannesburg, said the certificate of merit was in recognition for rendering exceptional service to the international customs community.
Customs is an authority in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and controlling the flow of goods in and out of a country. Naidoo said 183 countries sent their nominations for candidates, and Sars nominated him.
The 31-year-old, who also serves as a non-executive director on the board of the SAAFF training academy, won the South African chapter of the award. He said there was no overall winner from among the countries.
“I did not expect to receive the award. This award was not just mine. It belongs to the SAAFF. I am a mere servant and played a small role in the greater scheme of things.
“Credit and acknowledgement must be given to our CEO, Dr Juanita Maree; our current chair, Dr Maria Du Preez; and our past chairman, Devan Govender; as well as the portfolio directors Natalie Schworer and Richard Mallabone.
“Thanks also goes to the veterans of Sars and the other government agency national working group, which I am a part of. I am just one human being out of 7.75 billion trying to make a positive difference to inspire and motivate our youth,” said Naidoo.
But it turns out, there is something special about Naidoo.
During the unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last July, he and the SAAFF team, under the direction of the CEO and chairman, worked to restore confidence in the supply chain.
Naidoo said that SAAFF acted swiftly to establish an emergency working group to avert threats to food security and ensure the smooth flow of international trade distribution.
He said under the leadership of the SAAFF CEO, past SAAFF chairman as well as a representative from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, they implemented measures to secure the N3, ports and key hotspots.
They also reduced vandalism of rail lines and opened up discussions for third-party rail access to support Transnet Port Terminals.
“One would recall that the Transnet NAVIS system was also hacked at around the same time of the unrest. It was the intellect of our leadership that was instrumental in proposing the migration to a manual process. This consequently resulted in fluidity to the terminal.”
Naidoo, who is also an author and motivational speaker, recently completed his post-graduate diploma in management. He is in the process of completing his Master’s in commerce and is concurrently registered for his MBA.
Naidoo, who got his first job in the family-run business, East Coast Engineering, prior to joining Teichmann Plant Hire CC as a candidate technologist, said losing his dad to Covid-19 in
2020 broke his spirit.
“I was left devastated and did not have any drive to continue pursuing my dreams. However, the murmur of ‘keep it going’, as my dad would often say, encouraged me to forge ahead. God did send me a guardian angel, Devan Govender, whom I look up to as a father figure. He motivates me each day to aim higher.”
Naidoo’s goal is to help create a better economy through strategic partnerships between the government and the private sector. He also aims to empower, motivate and inspire young people to set their visions at an early age.
“They should not be trapped by the spirit of dogma and rather change their thought processes to incorporate elements of forward-thinking and continuous improvement,” he said.
Naidoo and his wife Sindy recently launched a social initiative @thegeorgenaidooproject on Instagram and the website www.thegeorgenaidooproject. com.
“This is to inspire acts of charity, donation of books, food and one's time to social welfare, help the destitute and poverty-stricken, more especially to encourage the habit of reading amongst everyone and promote access to quality education.”