10 October 2014
Are we really the worst in the world? Excellence must start in our communities?
Do you own a spaza, are you a community worker, a teacher or an ordinary worker? Are you the best that you can be? All of us are part of building a competitive country. We are responsible for the international investment that comes into our country. We are part of building South Africa’s reputation. Join us at the next session of Sowetan Play Your Part Dialogues to discuss how to make South Africa a competitive country for ourselves as citizens, investors, and tourists.
Brand South Africa CEO Miller Matola said, “Brand South Africa looks forward to this community engagement because it provides an opportunity for South Africans to deliberate on what strides South Africa has made 20 years after democracy, how to strengthen these and what each of us can do to make this country achieve social and economic growth. This is the very essence of active citizenship.”
This discussion will be facilitated by Shado Twala, and the panellists will include:
- Luvuyo Rani – Entrepreneur and Founder of Silulo Ulutho Technologies
- Thapelo Mahlangu – Management Development Consultant, Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (SA) Limited
- Gerry D Elsdon – CEO Cinnamon Communications
The Play Your Part Dialogues are public conversations held in local communities across the country. They provide a platform for discussions on issues that affect societies and what we can collectively do to improve these conditions.
Members of the Media are invited to attend as follows:
Date : Thursday, 9 October 2014
Venue: Langa Hall (Johnson Nguvela), Washington Street, KwaLanga Township, Cape Town
Time : 18h00 for 18h30
Enquiries:
Sandisiwe Gugushe
Sandisiweg@brandsouthafrica.com
073 126 9128
The entrance to the dialogue is free.
Note to editors
More about the panelists:
Luvuyo Rani
Luvuyo Rani, alongside his brother, Lonwabo, started their first internet café in the Khayelitsha Township, Western Cape, in 2004. Since those early days, Silulo Ulutho Technology has gone from strength to strength, offering computer training courses, Internet café and business centre services, IT retail and repair services. This was based on an insight that the Rani brothers had made, “We realised we had recognised a market — but that the market hadn’t recognised itself. People need technology, but we were pitching to a market that simply didn’t know how to use what we were offering.” As is the case with most new businesses, the business was struggling and they realised that an adjustment of their offering was required based on their target market’s needs. In 2010, they incorporated an educational element to the business model which offered advanced online courses to compete with local universities, and in 2011 more than 1600 people graduated from Silulo’s training courses. Today Silulo boasts 18 training centres across the Western Cape which run for six months at a time. Rani holds a BTech in Business Administration and a National Diploma in Commerce & Education from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Not only has he played his part by putting his education into practice but his entrepreneurial drive and passion has resulted in him building a more educated nation.
Dr Laurine Platzky
South African born, Dr Laurine Platzky was educated in Cape Town. She graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BA in Geography, B.Soc Sci in Sociology and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. She was national co-ordinator for the Surplus People Project, which exposed the forced removal of more than three and a half million people between 1960 and 1983. After working to empower communities threatened with removal, she worked on economic strategies for rural people in a post-apartheid South Africa. Her PhD thesis, “The Development Impact of South Africa’s Industrial Location Policies: an Unforeseen Legacy”, through the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, contributed to her later work for the Reconstruction and Development Programme in the President’s Office. She then became the Project Manager for the West Coast Investment Initiative with the national Department of Trade and Industry. In 1999, she moved to provincial government, to become Deputy Director-General, where she was responsible for Economic Development and Tourism until July 2004 when she was appointed Acting Head of the Western Cape Housing Department and later Acting Head of Culture and Sport. Based in the Premier’s Department since 2006, she is responsible for strategic programmes, having coordinated the Western Cape’s 2010 FIFA World Cup™ programme and currently represents Western Cape Government on the WDC 2014 Board.
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