The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) applauds Proudly SA’s launch of its online locally produced consumer goods platform at a high-profile event in Johannesburg, Tuesday 1 July.

This is a welcome boost to supporting local businesses and jobs.  Thousands of locally produced goods will be available to consumers across South Africa over the next few months as the platform becomes widely known to businesses and shoppers, with more to be added as it rolls out.  It will later offer a platform for South African exporters to sell their goods to the international market.

Proudly SA’s progressive intervention is timely given the rise of similar platforms (often foreign based) to consumers largely offering imports at the expense of local goods.  South African companies can join this bold initiative by registering with Proudly SA on its website www.proudlysa.co.za/membership.

COSATU strongly believes that the most sustainable way to saving and creating thousands of local jobs, in particular manufacturing, as well as to sustain local businesses and open up new economic sectors and opportunities, is through buying locally produced goods. 

There are few products that South Africa does or cannot produce, be it food, clothing and shoes, furniture and appliances, cars and trains, armaments and entertainment, amongst so many others.  Countless industrialised economies from the United States to Europe, China, Korea and Japan have underpinned their economic successes through aggressive localisation programmes. 

This is the only viable path for South Africa to reach the 3% economic growth rate urgently needed to tackle our 43.1% unemployment rate.

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks(COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)

Mobile: 082 785 0687