Dominic Collett has been re-elected as the chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Business Chambers Council (KBCC). He was also recently re-elected as treasurer on the board of the iLembe Chamber of Commerce. Collett has a passion for development, and he is a technical director at Zutari.
The KBCC is the representative voice of organised business in KwaZulu-Natal. Membership is open to all formal business representative organisations in the province, with the major chambers and business organisations in KwaZulu-Natal already members.
These include the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Minara Chamber of Commerce, Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business, iLembe Chamber of Commerce, KwaZulu-Natal Growth Coalition, Zululand Chamber of Commerce, Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce, KwaZulu-Natal Youth Chamber, FABCOS and NAFCOC.
The main intention of the KBCC is to provide a platform for interaction between government and business. Collett says, “KwaZulu-Natal is the only province to have this type of organisation. This platform elevates the local business chambers’ ability to be able to interact with government to a higher level. We can bring local business matters to the Premier to be dealt with at provincial level.” Currently, there are critical government and businesses interventions that need to be dealt with together.
The KBCC provides input on economic growth and strategy to provincial government, especially through the KwaZulu-Natal Economic Council, which is representative of all four social parties – civil society, labour, government and business. The KwaZulu-Natal Economic Council is also the only such formation in the country and mirrors, on a national level, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
“The KZN Economic Council is important to ensure that business is represented at a time where we need to restore confidence and rebuild our economy, especially relating to the impact of Covid and the events of July 2021,” said Collett. Together the social partners have dedicated themselves to a social compact to rebuild the province. No other provinces have a weapon of attacking the problems together or an open government that wants to interact.
“We are way ahead of the game, the KBCC is stable platform where government can address business as one body, and the KBCC can respond as business,” concluded Collett.