Noluthando Ngubane - Zululand Chamber Business Excellence Awards 2016

2016-12-05

An air of expectancy prevailed in the Umfolozi Casino's Dome on Thursday, 27 October 2016, as the guests arrived for the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry's annual Business Excellence Awards.

The event was themed "A Legacy of Excellence" and was proudly sponsored by South 32 and Nestlife and skillfully hosted by the charismatic and ever popular Proverb. While recognising the efforts of the business community, it was also the main celebration of the ZCCI's 90th anniversary.

Weeks of meticulous planning culminated in an event of which to be proud. The décor was world class and the trophy winners were worthy recipients of their awards.

City of uMhlathuze Deputy Mayor, Cllr S. Mkhize, welcomed the guests with a brief overview of imminent
development projects in the area.

ZCCI President Judith Nzimande shared the history and growth of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry from a small group of businessmen in Eshowe in 1926 to a great, vibrant, diverse, successful and representative Chamber celebrating 90 years of existence and excellence, "Indeed it is the legacy of excellence," said Nzimande. She then congratulated all the participants, and encouraged
them to continue delivering excellent service. As Steve Job said Customers do not measure you on how hard you tried, they measure you on what you deliver.

Guest speaker for the evening was Nick Bulunga, who analysed the theme and focused on what "leaving a legacy of excellence" required from each person.

Keynote Speaker, Cllr N. Mkhulisi from King Cetshwayo District Municipality, said this is one of the most strategic districts in the entire KZN, with big economic potential still lying largely untapped.

Cllr Mkhulisi highlighted some of the future developments in the district, which includes the development of the Port Durnford Beach.

Finally, it was time to turn the guests' attention to the trophies.

A total of 45 companies were nominated for Business Excellence Awards, and 26 finalists were chosen to compete for the 14 awards.

The winners of the various categories were: The Chamber would like to thank all the finalists for being so meticulous with their entries; the standard of entries this year was exceptionally high.

A big thank you to our Premium sponsors South 32 and Nestlife. This event would not have been possible without their sponsorship and support. Thank you to RBIDZ, Umfolozi Casino as well as our award sponsors: IsiZinda Aluminium, Bone Vitality Centre, Business Partners, Seeff, Tronox, Midbay
Motors and DNK Engineering.

The ZCCI would also like to thank the Judges, who took their time to accurately judge and score the finalists. Last, but not least, thank you to Hills Howard and Associates for auditing the scores and ensuring that the scoring was fair.

May the ZCCI see many more years of Business Excellence and continue the "Legacy of Excellence"