Managing Director's review

The ability to act as a positive corporate citizen in South Africa depends largely on: becoming a preferred destination for those serious about building an outstanding career; the ability of the organisation to continue to develop in a viable business market; and generating superior returns for shareholders.

While it has been argued that the first duty of the corporate citizen is to build a company that consistently delivers superior returns to shareholders, we must not overlook the other opportunities on offer to corporate South Africa. We have the chance to create a happy state of affairs. We are able to make investments into the rebuilding of our country, to create opportunities for work seekers and, in the case of financial services companies, to offer products that financially empower customers, and enable new horizons for them.

But we do have significant challenges ahead. In our view, the most immediate of those challenges is the need to participate in the skills revolution called for by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. We also must enable our people to express in their workplaces their diverse skills, abilities, and sensitivities. In fact, the biggest single corporate imperative must be black economic empowerment (BEE) for it offers the opportunity to include in the economy the millions of South Africans that have been marginalised and excluded from formal economic activity.

For the first time, this year we have published a separate BEE report that seeks to describe how we are implementing BEE throughout the organisation in as broad-based a manner as possible. In the pages of that report, you can read how the Old Mutual (SA) skills development staff, both at the Old Mutual Business School and within business units, have taken up the challenge of developing scarce skills; how the procurement team has managed to drive up efficiencies while simultaneously reducing costs and directing spending towards small and black businesses; and how we are involved in rebuilding the national infrastructure. Old Mutual (SA) has also set itself the task of becoming the preferred employer in the sector, by seeking actively to implement an inclusive workplace that recognises and rewards individuals for their contributions and their talents. We want to offer the best customer service and product range among our peers, and to underpin this with best-practice corporate governance.

It is our conviction that we cannot separate any of these initiatives from the others. Corporate citizenship to us is a mindset, it is a whole. Corporate citizenship to us means an integration of business and community initiatives, because strong businesses enable the activities required to address the challenges this country faces.

Roddy Sparks