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5 December 2003
The American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa (AmCham) has signalled its support for the future development of Africa by signing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) business group's four business covenants on best practices and governance.
It is hoped the move will provide a lead to US companies operating in South Africa.
The US is one of South Africa's key trading partners for both South African export promotion and inward investment mobilisation.
Luanne Grant, executive director of AmCham, said the signing would provide further support to the Nepad secretariat and the World Economic Forum in their drive to form as many African partnerships as possible to accelerate political and economic growth.
"The signing by AmCham of these covenants in Johannesburg commits the chamber to the principles of best business practice and governance in all spheres of its international dealings", Grant told the SA Press Assocation (Sapa).
"It will also act as a template to assist AmCham in improving the quality and effectiveness of social investments programmes in its own sphere of operations, and give a lead to others to join in on the developmental aims of the Nepad process."
She said that by giving its signature to the covenants, AmCham was not only encouraging their members to do likewise, but also sending a strong message to all US business units operating in the region.
According to a recent survey, most US companies in South Africa were more than interested in an improved trading environment in Africa. According to the Sunday Times, just over half of the survey respondents indicated that the economic climate was either excellent or good, while 40% reported it as variable.
Only 5% judged the economic situation as poor, compared with 28% in 2002, the survey found.
By far the majority of US companies that were in Africa already had their head offices in South Africa.
Most US companies, said Grant, were anxious to support the Nepad initiative, and shared the same vision of encouraging African countries to follow a path of sustainable growth and development.
"AmCham wishes to identify not only with the aims and objectives of Nepad but with all the processes which assist in the halt of the marginalisation of Africa in a global context and which encourage the expansion and integration of African trade internationally", she told Sapa.
"Co-operation and integration between member states in Africa is essential for trade to improve. We see AmCham's signature on these documents as not only endorsing the Nepad process but also supporting the empowerment process in Africa."
Earlier this year, a free trade agreement between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US was signed, giving expanded market access for local brands into the US.
US Ambassador to South Africa Cameron Hume said at the time that the agreement was a vote of confidence in the underlying fundamentals of the South African economy.
The free trade agreement will also contribute to the market access objectives of Nepad, while integrating the Sacu region more fully into the global economy.
"If peace, security and good governance are to become the norm, then we must encourage all US business units operating in the region to investigate the possibility of adding their signatures to this noble document in support of both President Mbeki's initiative for Africa and the tenets of the World Economic Forum", Grant said.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
