cHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER’S
report
Overview of operations
T
he Federation’s primary focus during the year continued to be on collective bargaining, lobbying and advocacy, whilst simultaneously having a secondary focus on generating revenue from consultancy, training and the sale of publications such as the SEIFSA Price and Index Pages. The primary source of revenue was generated from fees levied to Associations, with the other revenue streams being generated from the sale of products, services and publications offered by the following Divisions:
• • • •
Industrial Relations and Legal Services; Human Capital and Skills Development; Economics and Commercial; and Safety, Health, Environment and Quality.
SEIFSA has also continued to offer accounting, administration and management services to 19 of its affiliated Associations and the SEIFSA Training Centre continued to focus on developing high- calibre artisans to meet the needs of employers and address the skills shortage in artisan development that faces the country. The economic climate did not improve much from the previous year and continues to be a challenging one, with insignificant growth recorded for the year under review. The majority of the Federation’s customers are from the metals and engineering sector, which is taking a lot of strain due to the adverse economic climate. Notwithstanding this fact, the Federation managed to promote and market the uptake of its service and product offerings. The unstable political environment
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SEIFSA ANNUAL REVIEW 2017
Rajendra Rajcoomar Chief Financial Officer
continues to plague the country and, as a result, capital injection needed by the industry to develop its plant and technology has been insignificant to promote the creation of jobs. This unfortunate position has also impacted negatively on the number of persons attending training and development initiatives undertaken by the Federation. As readers will recall, the Collective Bargaining Levy agreement lapsed in December 2012 and the Federation has made significant strides in making up for this lost revenue by offering products and services which add value to its membership and other customers. Continuous attention was placed on the turnaround strategy to ensure that the Federation breaks even in the year under review. In spite of the de-federation of its largest Association, the South African Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA), with effect from
